(1) would be an infinite loop, without a "g" in the regex

Indeed, now corrected. I explicitly remove the /i (and accidentally the /g), because it would give wrong results if the OP really mean 'the' and not 'The' or 'THE'.

simpler code: Will be undef if nothing found.

That is no simpler as you still have to handle the possibility of undef.

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

In reply to Re^3: count the occurrences of particular word in a file and extract number in () by BrowserUk
in thread count the occurrences of particular word in a file and extract number in () by allison

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