# Calculating the length of a string

The LEN routine is easy to use, along with a tJava component, to check the length of a string:

```
System.out.println(StringHandling.LEN("hello world!"));
```

The check returns a whole number which indicates the length of the chain, including spaces and blank characters.

![The result is 12 in the Run view.](https://help.qlik.com/talend/en-US/studio-user-guide/Resources/images/routines6-3.png)