PHP function similar to VB INSTR()?

[kyrnel]

Thanks! That does it but for some reason I can't add to the number returned.

I'm a PHP n00B

This is what I have so far:
$numbirthdays = fetch_character_count($birthdays, ",")+1;

I need to add a one to the number since there are one fewer commas then there are birthdays. But this only returnes the number of commas. It doesnt seem to be adding the 1. Probably my syntax is bad.

I'm reading PHP.net now to see what I did wrong.

Also, KirbyDE was kind enough to write a full-on hack to display the number of birthdays on the main page:
https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=61610