setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION); $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_DEFAULT_FETCH_MODE, PDO::FETCH_ASSOC); } catch (PDOException $e) { die("Database connection failed: " . $e->getMessage()); } // Global settings function function getSetting($pdo, $key, $default = '') { try { $stmt = $pdo->prepare("SELECT setting_value FROM settings WHERE setting_key = ?"); $stmt->execute([$key]); $result = $stmt->fetchColumn(); return $result !== false ? $result : $default; } catch (PDOException $e) { return $default; // Settings table might not exist yet } }