can't change max_connections variable
		Date: 01/21/05 
		(MySQL Communtiy)    Keywords: mysql, sql
Hi all,
I can't seem to change my max_connections variable in mysql. 
If I try to do it through the client I get this.
mysql> set global max_connections=500;
ERROR 1064: You have an error in your SQL syntax near 'max_connections=500' at line 1
Then put 
set-variable = max_connections=300
in the my.cnf and restarted mysql.
I did 
show variables;
and I get
| max_connections                 | 100
Why aren't these attempts working?
Source: http://www.livejournal.com/community/mysql/46397.html