if (name == null) return null; else { name = name.trim(); if (name.length() == 0) return null; }
  public static Provider getProvider(String name)  {        Provider p;    int max = providers.size ();    for (int i = 0; i < max; i++)      {            p = (Provider) providers.elementAt(i);	if (p.getName().equals(name))	  return p;        }        return null;    }