How to count number of words from String using shell

Question

I want to count number of words from a String using Shell.

Suppose the String is:

input=\"Count from this String\"

Here the delimit

Answer 1

echo "$input" | wc -w

Use wc -w to count the number of words.

Or as per dogbane's suggestion, the echo can be got rid of as well:

wc -w <<< "$input"

If <<< is not supported by your shell you can try this variant:

wc -w << END_OF_INPUT
$input
END_OF_INPUT