code: public static String getAttribute(Element el, String name)
      {
          return el.hasAttribute(name) ? el.getAttribute(name) : "";
      }
docs: Obtains the value of the given element attribute. This function fixes the difference
  in return values between the different DOM implementations.
  @param el the element
  @param name the attribute name
  @return the attribute value or an empty string when the attribute is not present