sub ping {
my $ret = 0;

        if (time - $DBI::lastPing < 10) {  #check once in 10 seconds
                return 1;
        }

        eval {
                local $SIG{__DIE__}  = sub { return (0); };
                local $SIG{__WARN__} = sub { return (0); };
                # adapt the select statement to your database:
                $ret = $DBH::conn->do('select 1');
                $DBI::lastPing = time;  #record time in seconds
                };
        $debug && print STDERR "DBH.pm: pinging DB handle: $ret\n";
        return ($@) ? 0 : $ret;
}