String.prototype.trim = function() { 
    // Use a regular expression to replace leading and trailing 
    // spaces with the empty string 
    return this.replace(/(^\s*)|(\s*$)/g, ""); 
}; 

function getValue(node) { 
  return document.getElementById(node).firstChild.nodeValue; 
}; 

function setValue(node, val) { 
  document.getElementById(node).firstChild.nodeValue = val; 
};