/*
* Function parses comma separated name=value argument pairs
* from the query string of the URL.  It stores the name=value pairs
* in properties of an object and returns the object.
*/
function GetArgs()
{
    var args = new Object();
    var query = location.search.substring(1);   // get query string
    var pairs = query.split("&");
    for(var i=0; i < pairs.length; i++)         // loop thru all 
    {
        var pos = pairs[i].indexOf('=');            // look for name=value
        if (pos == -1) continue;                    // no value, skip
        var argname = pairs[i].substring(0, pos);   // obtain argument name
        var value = pairs[i].substring(pos+1);      // obtain value
        if (args[argname])
            args[argname] += ("," + value);         // add value into list
        else
            args[argname] = value;                  // store as property
    }
    return args;    // return the object
}

/*
* Function removes special characters from strings.  e.g. when part of a URL
*/
function MakeNormal(m)
{
    var specials = [
        '/', '.', '*', '+', '?', '|',
        '(', ')', '[', ']', '{', '}', '\\'
        ];
    var x = new RegExp(
        '(\\' + specials.join('|\\') + ')', 'g');
    var y = m.replace(x, " ");
    var z = y.replace(/%2C/g, ",");
    return z;
}