function getElementsByClass(searchClass, node, tag)
{
    if (node == null)
        node = document;
    
    if (tag == null) 
        tag = '*';
    
    var pattern       = new RegExp('(^|\\\\s)' + searchClass + '(\\\\s|$)'),
    	items         = node.getElementsByTagName(tag),
    	classElements = new Array();
    
    for (var i = 0; i < items.length; i++)
        if (pattern.test(items[i].className))
            classElements.push(items[i]);
    
    return classElements;
}