This would have to be one of the most common MySQL error messages that is misleading to the end user developer. The MySQL Manual page confirms the broad range of possible conditions, but offers little to a PHP developer that does not speak MySQL Geek. I am commonly asked to help solve this issue from a developer.
The problem is that there are several conditions that can cause this error, and a more meaningful explanation to the end user would help in addressing the issue. In general terms, this actually means “Your SQL statement has failed because the connection to the database has been disconnected because of ???”.
Here are a few common situations and how to check for what “???” is.