# Method GTK2.TextIter()->forward_search()

Method forward_search

  `array forward_search(string str, int flags, GTK2.TextIter limit)`

Description

  Searches forward for str. Returns two GTK2.TextIter objects, one pointing to the first character of the match, and the second pointing to the first character after the match. The search will not continue past limit. Note that a search is a linear or O(n) operation, so you may wish to use limit to avoid locking up your UI on large buffers.

  If the GTK2.TEXT_SEARCH_VISIBLE_ONLY flag is present, the match may have invisible text interspersed in str, i.e. str will be a possibly non-contiguous subsequence of the matched range. Similarly, if you specify GTK2.TEXT_SEARCH_TEXT_ONLY, the match may have pixbufs or child widgets mixed inside the matched range. If these flags are not given, the match must be exact; the special 0xFFFC character in str will match embedded pixbufs or child widgets.