[R] pattern search

[Schmitt, Corinna]

Dear R-experts,

I'm looking for an easy possibility for pattern search. I have got a
string and a special pattern. I would like to know if the pattern
appears in the string, if yes where does it appear (position) and the
number of appearance.  

Example:

Text = c("If the sun shines, no clouds should be seen in the sky!")
SearchPattern = c("the")
NumberOfAppearance = 0
NumberOfLetters = 0

--> NumberOfAppearance should be 2 in the end

How can I get the string length (=number of letters stored in Text)?

Has anyone a good idea?

Thanks, Corinna