findblank Function

    integer function findblank( lstring, strloc, increment )
    !---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ! This function searches for the address of the closest blank space to a
    ! specified address in the string. The parameter increment determines if
    ! the search proceedes foward (+1) or backward (-1).
    !---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ! arguments
    character(len=*), intent(in) :: lstring
    integer,          intent(in) :: strloc
    integer,          intent(in) :: increment

    ! local variables
    integer :: k, len_string

    ! initialize variables
    findblank = 0

    len_string = len( trim(adjustL(lstring)) )
    !---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    k = strloc
    do while( (  k + increment >= 1 ).and.(  k + increment <= len_string) )
       k = k + increment 
       if(lstring(k:k) == ' ') then
           findblank = k
           return
       endif
    end do    ! while 
    
    return
    
    !---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    end function findblank