// parses a query string into an array

function SSParseQueryString( query ){
	var args = new Object();
	if( query ){
		var fields = query.split('&');
		for( var f = 0; f < fields.length; f++ ){
			var field = fields[f].split('=');
			args[unescape(field[0].replace(/\+/g, ' '))] = unescape(field[1].replace(/\+/g, ' '));
		}
	}
	return args;
}

// this one breaks the query string out of a URL before parsing it

function SSParseQueryStringFromURL( str ){
	str = str ? str : location.search;
	var query = str.charAt(0) == '?' ? str.substring(1) : str;
	if( query ){
		return( parseQueryString( query ) );
	}
	else{
		return( new Object() );
	}
}