// inspired by @techpriester: https://gist.github.com/988627

function(
  a,                         // take a simple selector like "name", "#name", or ".name", and
  b                          // an optional context, and
){
  a = a.match(/^(\W)?(.*)/); // split the selector into name and symbol.
  return(                    // return an element or list, from within the scope of
    b                        // the passed context
    || document              // or document,
  )[
    "getElement" + (         // obtained by the appropriate method calculated by
      a[1]
        ? a[1] == "#"      
          ? "ById"           // the node by ID,
          : "sByClassName"   // the nodes by class name, or
        : "sByTagName"       // the nodes by tag name,
    )
  ](
    a[2]                     // called with the name.
  )
}