in php @ before an expression disables error reporting for that particular expression
web search (google not bing; damn so much for giving bing a chance; I like the bing home page pics though)
http://www.faqts.com/knowledge_base/view.phtml/aid/18068/fid/38
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=983476
I was trying to install Joomla and the pre-requisites specified mod_mysql. I have installed the mysql component for php before but the mistake I did now was searching for mod_mysql all over to see how to enable it, all I had to do is just install mysql for php using any installation instruction out there on the web.
on ubuntu just used
$sudo apt-get install php5-mysql
