i'd like to read the results off by field name.
Where you would normally use record.GetInt(index), you can also use record.GetIntByName(name) - *should* work :-)
...i'm used to using DB_DataObjects in php... Is there a module to handle access a similar way?
Not currently.
Htbaa has done some work on something like that, and I've also considered it as a possibility at some point, but there's nothing more concrete at the moment.