I have a php file that writes to a txt file: <?php $answers =

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Asked: May 30, 20262026-05-30T23:25:58+00:00 2026-05-30T23:25:58+00:00

I have a php file that writes to a txt file: <?php $answers =

0

I have a php file that writes to a txt file:

<?php
$answers = "answers.txt";
$fh = fopen($answers, 'a+') or die("can't open file");
$stringData = $_POST["username"];
$timestamp = date("g:i A, m/j/Y");
fwrite($fh, $stringData);
fwrite($fh, " started the quiz at ");
fwrite($fh, $timestamp);
fwrite($fh, "\n");
fclose($fh);
?>

Assuming I replace this code to enter a number (e.g. 10) followed by the user’s answer (a string) so it submits the question number followed by the answer, how can I search through the txt file for the username then add that line to an array? Also, could I check the file when each question loads to see which questions the user has answered and then either choose another random quiz or continue loading (if they have not)?
Basically:

Search the text file for a string and output any lines that contain it
Search the text file for a string and then search for a number encased in commas or some other identifier (e.g. ,23,) on the same line as the string.

If I should be doing this using MySQL, a few links or other resources would be nice, because I have heard of MySQL but never used it.
Thanks a bunch in advance!

NOTE: I believe I need to search for a string using strpos and then get the line number and take the whole line and put it in the string. Then, I need to use explode “,” to get the question numbers and have a php script on each page check to see if it’s number has already been answered. If so, then select another random number. If not, recieve input then write it back to the text file. Or, perhaps I could use sessions to store the questions answered. However, I have no idea how to implement all this together.