Newbee: Array Field Separator: \035

Hi, I am reading an already created gdbm file with dba_fetch into an array. I am able to print out the array but not the individual elements. The elements are separated with ascii \035. How would I be able to reference each element based on the field separator they have? Also, Once I open the gdbm file do I have to stick with dba_* calls or are there other function I can use to process the data? Thanks, Jeff