var StringUtils = {
    isBlank: function(val){
        return val == null || val.strip() == '' || val.strip() == 'null';
    },
    
    isNotBlank: function(val){
        return !StringUtils.isBlank(val);
    },
    
    prepareForHTMLId: function(val){
        return val.replace(' ', '-').replace(/\//g, '-').replace(/\s+/g, '-');
    }
};