1. as above
2. On my server, running the phpinfo under php5 shows the following mysql build: 4.1.21 and supports both mysql() and mysqli() functions when running in PHP5 mode. PHP4 mode does not have mysqli() available.
3. I know the file_get_contents() stuff works because I use it to get some news feeds and other stuff.
4. No idea..
never had to use it.
Mark H.