Ruby on Rails db setup

What to set database to in database.yml to account for the fact we can't use localhost on dreamhost?

And what is mysql socket? I believe it is /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock

Don't use socket... use host instead. When you set up a database with DH, you have to give it a subdomain name and you have to give it a username / database name.

production:
adapter: mysql
database: database
username: username
password: yourpassword
host: mysqlhost.yourdomain.com