Search for string and get count in vi editor

Question

I want to search for a string and find the number of occurrences in a file using the vi editor.

Answer 1

(similar as Gustavo said, but additionally: )

For any previously search, you can do simply:

:%s///gn

A pattern is not needed, because it is already in the search-register (@/).

"%" - do s/ in the whole file
"g" - search global (with multiple hits in one line)
"n" - prevents any replacement of s/ -- nothing is deleted! nothing must be undone!
(see: :help s_flag for more informations)

(This way, it works perfectly with "Search for visually selected text", as described in vim-wikia tip171)