code: def get_n_excluded_patches(self):
          
          base = self.get_patches_base()
          if not base:
              return 0
          p = base.rfind('+')
          if p == -1:
              return 0
          try:
              n = int(base[p+1:])
              return n
          except TypeError:
              return 0
docs: Gets number of excluded patches from patches_base:
          #patches_base=1.0.0+THIS_NUMBER