def count_items(input_text):
    """
    Count the number of items in a list of objects.

    This function takes a string containing a list of objects and counts the number of items in the list.

    Args:
    input_text (str): A string containing a list of objects.

    Returns:
    int: the number of items in the list.
    """
    items_list = input_text.split(", ")
    print("List of items:", items_list)

    num_items = len(items_list)
    print("Number of items:", num_items)

    return num_items