MySQL - field names

Typically when making a MySQL query I will do something similar to: $sql = "SELECT DISTINCT type FROM accttypes WHERE id=$requested_id"; $result = mysql_query($sql,$conn); while ( ($rs = mysql_fetch_array($result)) ) { $accttype = $rs[0]; } This strikes me as a bit clumsy, especially when lots of fields are returned (I forever find myself counting forward from 0 to get the correct number for a specific field!). I would much rather be able to access the record set pieces by their field name? Something like $accttype = $rs.type as per the above example? I wonder if someone would be kind enough to point me in the correct direction. Ollie