function stripe(id){
	// the flag we'll use to keep track of 
	// whether the current row is odd or even
	var appliedColour = false;
		var even = false;
	
	// if arguments are provided to specify the colours
	// of the even & odd rows, then use the them;
	// otherwise use the following defaults:
	var evenColor = arguments[1] ? arguments[1] : "#e2e2e2";
	var oddColor = arguments[2] ? arguments[2] : "#f0f0f0";
	
	// obtain a reference to the desired table
	// if no such table exists, abort
	var table = document.getElementById(id);
	if (! table) { return; }
	
	// by definition, tables can have more than one tbody
	// element, so we'll have to get the list of child
	// <tbody>s 
	var tbodies = table.getElementsByTagName("tbody");
	
	// and iterate through them...
	for (var h = 0; h < tbodies.length; h++) {
	
	 // find all the &lt;tr&gt; elements... 
	  var trs = tbodies[h].getElementsByTagName("tr");
	  
	  // ... and iterate through them
	  for (var i = 0; i < trs.length; i++) {
	
		// avoid rows that have a class attribute
		// or backgroundColor style
		if (/*! hasClass(trs[i]) &&*/
			! trs[i].style.backgroundColor) {
				  
		  // get all the cells in this row...
		  var tds = trs[i].getElementsByTagName("td");
		
		  // and iterate through them...
		  for (var j = 0; j < tds.length; j++) {
		
			var mytd = tds[j];
	
			// avoid cells that have a class attribute
			// or backgroundColor style
			if (/*! hasClass(mytd) &&*/
				! mytd.style.backgroundColor) {
		
			  mytd.style.backgroundColor =
				even ? evenColor : oddColor;
								
								appliedColour = true;
			
			}
		  }
		}
		// flip from odd to even, or vice-versa
		if (appliedColour) 
				{
						even =  ! even;
						appliedColour = false;
				}
	  }
	}
}