# String search

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029>\
**Category:** Uncategorized\
**Created:** [August 5, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029 "2004-08-05T19:32:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Mister\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@Mister\_B](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Mister_B)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/1 "2004-08-05T19:32:37Z")

</div>

Hey, I am trying to search a string for the number of \<BR\>'s in it.

```auto
 count = 0;
 oInd = 0;
 while (oInd=_root.blah.indexOf("<BR>", oInd+1) != -1) {
  if (oInd == -1) {
   break;
  }
  count++;
 }
 trace(count); 

```

this is what I am trying but it says that a code is causing flash to run too slowly.

I just don’t know what to do about this.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/2 "2004-08-05T19:40:27Z")

</div>

Try:

```auto
my_string = "This<br>is<br>my<br>string<br>!";
n = my_string.split("<br>").length-1;
trace(n);

```

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/3 "2004-08-05T19:45:32Z")

</div>

it just returns 0

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/4 "2004-08-05T19:49:03Z")

</div>

Zero?  
Hmmm… are you using \<br\> or \<BR\>?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/5 "2004-08-05T19:57:27Z")

</div>

nevermind. Thats very clever.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/6 "2004-08-05T20:11:33Z")

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just so you know, the problem with your original script was just a result of order of operations. You need for the oInd var to be defined before the comparison of the result, otherwise it will always be assigned to true or false (depending on the comparaison outcome).

while ( (oInd = \_root.blah.indexOf("\<br\>", oInd+1)) != -1) count++;

… you also need to start oInd at -1, so the initial +1 will make 0.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![system](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/uploads/kirupa/original/3X/6/2/621e5c11736f46532526e61be85940af4230f3e5.png) [@system](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/string-search/60029/7 "2004-08-05T20:15:05Z")

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Thanks for the further explanation sen. :sen: