function getCount ($dbname, $tablename, $where)
    // get count of records that satisfy selection criteria in $where.
    {
        $this->errors = array();

        // connect to database
        $this->connect($dbname) or trigger_error($this, E_USER_ERROR);

        if (preg_match('/^(select )/ims', $where)) {
            // $where starts with 'SELECT' so use it as a complete query
            $this->query = $where;
        } else {
            // does not start with 'SELECT' so it must be a 'where' clause
            if (empty($where)) {
            	$this->query = "SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS * FROM $tablename LIMIT 1";
            } else {
                $where = $this->adjustWhere($where);
                $this->query = "SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS * FROM $tablename WHERE $where LIMIT 1";
            } // if
        } // if

$where = trim(preg_replace("/^\s+/u", "", $where));