best way to store dbm records?

[Michael B. Allen]

Hi!

I was wondering what the best/simplest way to store dbm records is? This is
how I am currently adding records:

 # create dbm record
 p = '102'
 s = getfield(msg, 'from')
 a = getfield(msg, 'authors')
 v = getfield(msg, 'version')
 d = getfield(msg, 'description')
 x = getfield(msg, 'fixes')
 o = getfield(msg, 'obsoletes')
 r = getfield(msg, 'requires')
 f = getfield(msg, 'flags')
 dbmrecord = (a,v,d,x,o,r,f)
 db[p] = `dbmrecord`

This is what the dbm record looks like as a string(with the key '102' before
it):

102 ('', 'ds-0.1', 'Would you like to send a Broadcast Email Advertisement
to\012 1,000,000 PEOPLE DAILY (30,000,000 People a Month) for FREE?', '',
'', '', '')

[don't worry, I'm not sending bulk e-mail. I'm just processing e-mail and
happen to have plenty of junk to test it with]

Then, to get a record out I eval it like this:

 dbmrecord = eval(db[key])
 (a,v,d,x,o,r,f) = dbmrecord

Will this work reliably or is there a better way?

Thanks,
Mike