NUMAT()
Counts the number of occurrences of a sequence within a string
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syntax
NUMAT(<cSearchFor>,<cString>,[<nIgnore>]) --> nNumber
Arguments
<cSearchFor> Designates the search string.
<cString> Designates the string to search.
<nIgnore> Designates the number of characters that are excluded
from the search. The default value ignores none.
Returns
The function returns a value that specifies how frequently the
<cSearchFor> sequence was found in the <cString>.
Description
NUMAT() determines how often a particular <cSearchFor> appears within
<cString>. When you use <nIgnore> you can lock out a number of
characters at the beginning of the <cString> and keep them out of the
search.
The setting for CSETATMUPA() impacts your results. The character string
is searched from the left for each occurrence of the <cSearchFor>
string. If CSETATMUPA() is .F., then the search continues after the
last character of the found sequence. If CSETATMUPA() is .T., then the
search continues after the first character of the found sequence.
Note
. By implementing SETATLIKE(), wildcard characters can be used
within the search expression.
Examples
. Count from the first position:
? NUMAT("ab", "abcdeabc") // Result: 2
. Count from the second position. <nIgnore> specifies that one
space is to be skipped:
? NUMAT("ab", "abcdeabc", 1) // Result: 1
. This example shows the impact of CSETATMUPA() when counting
the string "aa" within the <cString> string:
CSETATMUPA(.F.) // Off
? NUMAT("aa", "aaaab") // Result: 2
CSETATMUPA(.T.) // On
? NUMAT("aa", "aaaab") // Result: 3
. Examples for the use of SETATLIKE() can be found under the
corresponding function description.
See Also: CSETATMUPA() SETATLIKE()
