protected int indexOf(String buffer,int start,int end,char ch){
  for (int i=start; i < end; i++) {
    if (buffer.charAt(i) == ch) {
      return i;
    }
  }
  return -1;
}

protected int indexOf ( String buffer , int start , int end , char ch ) { for ( int i = start ; i < end ; i ++ ) { if ( buffer . charAt ( i ) == ch ) { return i ; } } return - 1 ; }
computes index of given char within stringbuffer
