class REXML::Element
  def find_attribute(attr_name, ns=nil)
    if !ns
      return self.attributes[attr_name]
    else
      ns_prefix = self.namespaces.index(ns)
      if ns_prefix
        return self.attributes["#{ns_prefix}:#{attr_name}"]
      else
        return nil
      end
    end
  end
end