question: @ Nullable private String readAttribute ( IXMLElement elem , String attributeName , @ Nullable String defaultValue ) { if ( elem . hasAttribute ( attributeName , SVG_NAMESPACE ) ) { String value = elem . getAttribute ( attributeName , SVG_NAMESPACE , null ) ; if ( value . equals ( "inherit" ) ) { return readAttribute ( elem . getParent ( ) , attributeName , defaultValue ) ; } else { return value ; } } else if ( elem . hasAttribute ( attributeName ) ) { String value = elem . getAttribute ( attributeName , null ) ; if ( value . equals ( "inherit" ) ) { return readAttribute ( elem . getParent ( ) , attributeName , defaultValue ) ; } else { return value ; } } else { return defaultValue ; } }
target:  Reads an attribute that is not inherited, unless its value is "inherit".