// ****************************************************************************
    function getCount ($where=null)
    // get count of records that satisfy selection criteria in $where.
    {
        if (strlen(trim(preg_replace("/^\s+/u", "", $where))) > 0) {
            $count = $this->_dml_getCount($where);
            return $count;
        } else {
            return 0;
        } // if

    } // getCount