return C++ string to PHP var?

I have to create a data access layer (DAL) to be used in PHP. It looks like writing a COM object and loading it from PHP would be the best bet. Question 1: Is COM the best solution here? Question 2: if I had an interface "char* query("Blah")" How would I return the result set into a PHP var? Question 3: Anyone know of a good tutorial that creates a COM object and accesses it via PHP? Thanks! (P.S. this is my first time posting in a newsgroup)