StAX XMLStreamWriter Oddities

Overall, I like the design of the final StAX API but I found these oddities
which I don't understand and hope someone could provide a clue:

In particular some XMLStreamWriter methods are overloaded with inconsistent
scrambled parameter orders like this:

  writeStartElement(String localName)
  writeStartElement(String namespaceURI,
	String localName)
  writeStartElement(String prefix,
	String localName,
	String namespaceURI)

  writeEmptyElement(String localName)
  writeEmptyElement(String namespaceURI,
	String localName)
  writeEmptyElement(String prefix,
	String localName,
	String namespaceURI)

  writeAttribute(String localName, String value)
  writeAttribute(String namespaceURI,
	String localName,
	String value) 
  writeAttribute(String prefix,
	String namespaceURI,
	String localName,
	String value)

Is there some mysterious design pattern at work here?

Also, I noticed that there is a patent filed on StAX by the StAX spec lead:

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2F
netahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20030159112
.PGNR.&OS=DN/20030159112&RS=DN/20030159112

Best,

Don Park
http://www.docuverse.com/
http://www.docuverse.com/blog/donpark/