$dsn = "DBI:mysql:yip;db.yip.com";
$dbh = DBI->connect($dsn,'me','pass');
$sth = $dbh->prepare("SELECT company FROM company_public;");
$sth->execute();

while($ref = $sth->fetchrow_arrayref) {
    push @companies, $ref->[0];
}

$dbh->disconnect;