[eluser]CroNiX[/eluser]
Hard to know what's available to you if you don't read the whole manual. So many people waste a lot of time writing code only to find out later that CI had a way easier way to do it but they never "knew" it. It doesn't mean you have to memorize it, but as you're coding and trying to solve problems these things kind of pop out at you if you've already read it.
It doesn't take that long and it will save you untold hours.