how to scan through a string of character with PHP

[eluser]alanphil[/eluser]
I would recommend that you read about the Database class in the user guide. Lots of good examples on how to do this. You don't provide enough information on what exactly you are trying to do, but one possible solution might use the following:

$this->db->like();

Or you might want to use a Regular Expression? Provide more detail about your problem and the forum can provide a better answer.

Alan