What about something like EZDBI or DBIx::Simple. Both of which are Perl, database related, and minimalist. DBIx::Simple is an OO interface though and might require more background/explanation. EZDBI abstracts some standard SQL to functions, which should make it easier. However, there are some context-sensitive features which might be too complicated and need to be skipped.

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I'm not belgian but I play one on TV.