// this function is need to work around 
	// a bug in IE related to element attributes
	function hasClass(obj) {
		var result = false;
		if (obj.getAttributeNode("class") != null) {
			result = obj.getAttributeNode("class").value;
		}
		return result;
	}   

	function stripe(id) {
		// the flag we'll use to keep track of 
		// whether the current row is odd or even
		var even = false;
  
		// if arguments are provided to specify the colours
		// of the even & odd rows, then use the them;
		// otherwise use the following defaults:
		var evenColor = arguments[1] ? arguments[1] : "#fff";
		var oddColor = arguments[2] ? arguments[2] : "#eee";
  
		// obtain a reference to the desired table
		// if no such table exists, abort
		var table = document.getElementById(id);
		if (! table) { return; }
    
		// by definition, tables can have more than one tbody
		// element, so we'll have to get the list of child
		// <tbody>s 
		var tbodies = table.getElementsByTagName("tbody");

		// and iterate through them...
		for (var h = 0; h < tbodies.length; h++) {
    
			// find all the &lt;tr&gt; elements... 
			var trs = tbodies[h].getElementsByTagName("tr");
      
			// ... and iterate through them
			for (var i = 0; i < trs.length; i++) {

				// avoid rows that have a class attribute
				// or backgroundColor style
				if (!hasClass(trs[i]) && ! trs[i].style.backgroundColor) {
 
					// get all the cells in this row...
					var tds = trs[i].getElementsByTagName("td");
        
					// and iterate through them...
					for (var j = 0; j < tds.length; j++) {
        
						var mytd = tds[j];

						// avoid cells that have a class attribute
						// or backgroundColor style
						if (! hasClass(mytd) && ! mytd.style.backgroundColor) {
        
							mytd.style.backgroundColor = even ? evenColor : oddColor;
              
						}
					}
				}
				// flip from odd to even, or vice-versa
				even =  ! even;
			}
		}
	}