Need help for a shell script (bash)

[-Stalker-]

I'm writing a bash script and need this:
I have a text variable, $text for example.

text='Don't eat me baby :)'

What I should do to know the length of this variable, I mean the count of symbols?

[This message has been edited by -Stalker- (edited 28 November 2000).]

[The King Ant]

If you have wc (word count) installed, you can run "wc -l filename"... Maybe you could echo the variable to a file in /tmp? I realize that this is ugly and slow and dumb. But it works...

Maybe you could cat a newline character on the end of the string, then loop through and count char by char until you hit the newline? Then take the newline off? I guess this isn't all that smooth either though...

[-Stalker-]

I found!

count=`expr "$text" : '.*'`

heh, this is really works and fast enough

but... if you will have any better stuff that will work faster than mine... I'm waiting for it!

Thanks!!

[This message has been edited by -Stalker- (edited 28 November 2000).]

[This message has been edited by -Stalker- (edited 28 November 2000).]

[Strike]

count=`expr length $MY_VAR`

works for me