added reconnect() method to db drivers
diff --git a/user_guide/changelog.html b/user_guide/changelog.html
index cdbfbbd..3ddaf8d 100644
--- a/user_guide/changelog.html
+++ b/user_guide/changelog.html
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@
<li>Updated all database drivers to handle arrays in escape_str()</li>
<li>Added escape_like_str() method for escaping strings to be used in LIKE conditions</li>
<li>Updated Active Record to utilize the new LIKE escaping mechanism.</li>
+ <li>Added reconnect() method to DB drivers to try to keep alive / reestablish a connection after a long idle.</li>
</ul>
</li>
diff --git a/user_guide/database/connecting.html b/user_guide/database/connecting.html
index 3579e1a..b4d5179 100644
--- a/user_guide/database/connecting.html
+++ b/user_guide/database/connecting.html
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@
</div>
+<h2>Reconnecting / Keeping the Connection Alive</h2>
+
+<p>If the database server's idle timeout is exceeded while you're doing some heavy PHP lifting (processing an image, for instance), you should consider pinging the server by using the <dfn>reconnect()</dfn> method before sending further queries, which can gracefully keep the connection alive or re-establish it.</p>
+
+<code>$this->db->reconnect();</code>