code: public String getStringProperty (final String name, final String def)
    {
      String val = m_aProps.getProperty (name, def);
      if (val == null)
        return def;
      val = val.trim ();
      return val.length () == 0 ? def : val;
    }
docs: Get the trimmed String value of the property with the given
  <code>name</code> or the given default value if the value is null or empty
  after trimming.