diff --git a/includes/database/database.inc b/includes/database/database.inc
index f237de62bbf30649cfab6a62bb8177c08941134f..6bd5b2d7ec934c948d23255735a8962cab25cacb 100644
--- a/includes/database/database.inc
+++ b/includes/database/database.inc
@@ -746,10 +746,6 @@ final public static function setActiveConnection($key = 'default') {
 
   /**
    * Process the configuration file for database information.
-   *
-   * Because the config file accepts various "fallback" configurations, we have
-   * to parse the configuration array out into a standardized "complete" form,
-   * applying defaults where necessary.
    */
   final protected static function parseConnectionInfo() {
     global $databases;
@@ -759,17 +755,7 @@ final protected static function parseConnectionInfo() {
     }
     $databaseInfo = $databases;
 
-    // If no database key is specified, default to default.
-    if (!is_array($databaseInfo)) {
-      $databaseInfo = array('default' => $databaseInfo);
-    }
-
     foreach ($databaseInfo as $index => $info) {
-      // If no targets are specified, default to one default.
-      if (!is_array($databaseInfo[$index])) {
-        $databaseInfo[$index] = array('default' => $info);
-      }
-
       foreach ($databaseInfo[$index] as $target => $value) {
         // If there is no "driver" property, then we assume it's an array of
         // possible connections for this target.  Pick one at random.  That
diff --git a/sites/default/default.settings.php b/sites/default/default.settings.php
index 7659fd3b2a5cbba32520bbd07e9cd1dfe855fe16..758f52b8991232fe91df118f72b9155a2ec1b506 100644
--- a/sites/default/default.settings.php
+++ b/sites/default/default.settings.php
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
  *   'username' => 'username',
  *   'password' => 'password',
  *   'host' => 'localhost',
+ *   'port' => 3306,
  * );
  *
  * The "driver" property indicates what Drupal database driver the 
@@ -87,28 +88,17 @@
  * $databases['default']['default'] = $info_array;
  * $databases['default']['slave'][] = $info_array;
  * $databases['default']['slave'][] = $info_array;
- * $databases['extra'] = $info_array;
+ * $databases['extra']['default'] = $info_array;
  *
  * In the above example, $info_array is an array of settings described above.
  * The first line sets a "default" database that has one master database
  * (the second level default).  The second and third lines create an array
  * of potential slave databases.  Drupal will select one at random for a given
  * request as needed.  The fourth line creates a new database with a name of
- * "extra".  Since no target is specified, it is assumed to be "default", that
- * is, only one server.
+ * "extra".
  *
  * For a single database configuration, the following is sufficient:
  *
- * $databases = array(
- *   'driver' => 'mysql',
- *   'database' => 'databasename',
- *   'username' => 'username',
- *   'password' => 'password',
- *   'host' => 'localhost',
- * );
- *
- * That is equivalent to:
- *
  * $databases['default']['default'] = array(
  *   'driver' => 'mysql',
  *   'database' => 'databasename',
@@ -141,21 +131,21 @@
  *   );
  *
  * Database configuration format:
- *   $databases = array(
+ *   $databases['default']['default'] = array(
  *     'driver' => 'mysql',
  *     'database' => 'databasename',
  *     'username' => 'username',
  *     'password' => 'password',
  *     'host' => 'localhost',
  *   );
- *   $databases = array(
+ *   $databases['default']['default'] = array(
  *     'driver' => 'pgsql',
  *     'database' => 'databasename',
  *     'username' => 'username',
  *     'password' => 'password',
  *     'host' => 'localhost',
  *   );
- *   $databases = array(
+ *   $databases['default']['default'] = array(
  *     'driver' => 'sqlite',
  *     'database' => 'databasefilename',
  *   );