Is there a way to get all values for a particular node? I would like to create a customized view and search page by writing my own module because I believe that Views is unable to do what I want.  This requires me to write my own SQL queries, as well.  Is there an API call I can use to get all the data and values about a specific node?  For example, if I had a content type that asked for your first name and last name:

$values = get_node($nid)


and $values would end up looking something like:

$values['first_name'];
$values['last_name'];


Right now, it seems that all the fields and values are in their own tables, which makes it a nightmare in writing my SQL query to gather all data about the particular node.
You can use node_load() function.

eg: 

 $node = node_load(nid); //you will get all fields values of particular node
 print_r($node);