SEARCH feature request: select count

Hi,

I was asked off-list whether it makes sense to extend DAV:basicsearch to 
just obtain the count of search results.

As far as I can tell, that would require

1) an extension to DAV:select, allowing a child element of "DAV:count", and

2) an extension to the response format definition (as right now, 
DAV:multistatus doesn't allow us to return that kind of information).

I'm not 100% sure how useful this would be, and if we find it useful, 
whether it should be optional.

Feedback appreciated.

Best regards, Julian