pads the side of a string with a specific set of characters

pad.js

function pad (text, padded_length, pad_string, pad_direction) {
  pad_string = pad_string || " ";
  text = text + "";
  if (text.length >= padded_length) {
    return text;
  }
  var pad_content = new Array(padded_length - text.length + 1).join(pad_string);
  if (!pad_direction || pad_direction === "left") {
    return pad_content + text;
  } else {
    return text + pad_content;
  }
}

function lpad (text, padded_length, pad_string) {
  return pad(text, padded_length, pad_string, "left");
}

function rpad (text, padded_length, pad_string) {
  return pad(text, padded_length, pad_string, "right");
}