code: public boolean isSpecified (String qName)
      {
      int index = getIndex (qName);
  
      if (index < 0)
          throw new IllegalArgumentException (
          "No such attribute: " + qName);
      return specified [index];
      }
docs: Returns the current value of an attribute's "specified" flag.
  
  @param qName The XML qualified (prefixed) name.
  @return current flag value
  @exception java.lang.IllegalArgumentException When the
  supplied name does not identify an attribute.