<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
var pos = 0;
var num = -1;
var i = -1;
var myString = "this is a test";
while (pos != -1) {
pos = myString.indexOf("e", i + 1);
num += 1;
i = pos;
}
alert(num + " e");
</script>
</body>
</html>