function trim(str, chars) {
	return ltrim(rtrim(str, chars), chars);
}
 
function ltrim(str, chars) {
	chars = chars || "\\s";
	return str.replace(new RegExp("^[" + chars + "]+", "g"), "");
}
 
function rtrim(str, chars) {
	chars = chars || "\\s";
	return str.replace(new RegExp("[" + chars + "]+$", "g"), "");
}

function  validateNumeric( strValue ) {
/*****************************************************************
DESCRIPTION: Validates that a string contains only valid numbers.

PARAMETERS:
   strValue - String to be tested for validity

RETURNS:
   True if valid, otherwise false.
******************************************************************/
  var objRegExp  =  /(^-?\d\d*\.\d*$)|(^-?\d\d*$)|(^-?\.\d\d*$)/;

  //check for numeric characters
  return objRegExp.test(strValue);
}