public function init_db($db)
    {
        $engine = $db->db_provider;

        // read schema file from /SQL/*
        $fname = INSTALL_PATH . "SQL/$engine.initial.sql";
        if ($sql = @file_get_contents($fname)) {
            $db->set_option('table_prefix', $this->config['db_prefix']);
            $db->exec_script($sql);
        }
        else {
            $this->fail('DB Schema', "Cannot read the schema file: $fname");
            return false;
        }

        if ($err = $this->get_error()) {
            $this->fail('DB Schema', "Error creating database schema: $err");
            return false;
        }

        return true;
    }