private int initialNumber(String tform){
  int i;
  for (i=0; i < tform.length(); i++) {
    if (!Character.isDigit(tform.charAt(i))) {
      break;
    }
  }
  return Integer.parseInt(tform.substring(0,i));
}

private int initialNumber ( String tform ) { int i ; for ( i = 0 ; i < tform . length ( ) ; i ++ ) { if ( ! Character . isDigit ( tform . charAt ( i ) ) ) { break ; } } return Integer . parseInt ( tform . substring ( 0 , i ) ) ; }
get an unsigned number at the beginning of a string
