function confirmEmailField(emailField){
	//need to do more thorough checking here
	if(emailField){
		var emailFilter=/^[a-zA-Z0-9._-]+@([a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.)+[a-zA-Z0-9.-]{2,4}(\.[a-zA-Z0-9.-]{,4})?$/;
		var theValue = emailField.value;
		if (!(emailFilter.test(theValue))) {
		       return("Please enter a valid E-mail address.\n");
		}
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmEmailField was null");
}

function confirmFieldNotEmpty(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		if(theFormField.value.length == 0){
			return("Please enter "+formFieldName);
		}
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmFieldNotEmpty was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}
function confirmValidPassword(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		var errorMessage = confirmFieldNotEmpty(theFormField,formFieldName)
		if(errorMessage.length > 0){
			return(errorMessage);
		}
		return('');
	}
	//do we need to check for certain things like at least 6 chars or a number ??
	return("form field for confirmValidPassword was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}

function confirmPasswordsEqual(firstPassword,secondPassword){
	var errorMessage = confirmValidPassword(firstPassword,"a Password")
	if(errorMessage.length > 0){
		return(errorMessage);
	}
	var errorMessage = confirmValidPassword(secondPassword,"a Password confirmation")
	if(errorMessage.length > 0){
		return(errorMessage);
	}
	if(firstPassword.value == secondPassword.value){
		return('');
	}
	return("The passwords you have entered are not the same.");
}

function confirmRadioChecked(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		var oneChecked = false;
		for(i = 0;i<theFormField.length;i++){
			if(theFormField[i].checked){
				oneChecked = true;
			}
		}
		if(!oneChecked){
			return("Please select a value for "+formFieldName);
		}
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmRadioChecked was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}

function confirmValidYear(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		if(theFormField.value.length < 4){
			return("Please enter "+formFieldName+" as a four digit year")
		}
		var errorMessage = confirmValidNumber(theFormField,formFieldName)
		if(errorMessage.length > 0){
			return(errorMessage);
		}
		//do we want to do further checking here ??
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmValidYear was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}

function confirmValidNumber(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		var errorMessage = confirmFieldNotEmpty(theFormField,formFieldName)
		if(errorMessage.length > 0){
			return(errorMessage);
		}
		if(isNaN(theFormField.value)){
			return("Please enter a valid number for "+formFieldName);
		}
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmValidNumber was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}
function confirmSelectedIfEnabled(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		if(theFormField.disabled){
			return('');
		}
		return confirmDropdownSelected(theFormField,formFieldName);
	}
	return("form field for confirmDropdownSelected was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}
function confirmDropdownSelected(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		if(theFormField.selectedIndex == 0){
			return("Please select a value for "+formFieldName);
		}
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmDropdownSelected was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}
function confirmValidZipcode(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		if(theFormField.value.length < 5){
			return("Please enter a five digit "+formFieldName)
		}
		var errorMessage = confirmValidNumber(theFormField,formFieldName)
		if(errorMessage.length > 0){
			return(errorMessage);
		}
		//do we want to do further checking here ??
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmValidZipcode was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}
function confirmValidPhoneNumber(theFormField,formFieldName){
	if(theFormField){
		var errorMessage = confirmFieldNotEmpty(theFormField,formFieldName)
		if(errorMessage.length > 0){
			return(errorMessage);
		}
		var stripped = theFormField.value.replace(/[\(\)\.\-\ ]/g, '');
		if (isNaN(parseInt(stripped))) {
			return(formFieldName+" contains illegal characters.");
		}
		if (!(stripped.length == 10)) {
			return(formFieldName+" must be a 10 digit number.");	
		}
		theFormField.value = stripped;
		return('');
	}
	return("form field for confirmValidPhoneNumber was null. fieldName: "+formFieldName);
}