private boolean areEqual(String string1, String string2) {
		if (string1 == "")
			string1 = null;
		if (string2 == "")
			string2 = null;
		
		if ((string1 == null && string2 != null) ||
				(string1 != null && string2 == null)) {
				return false;
			}
		else if (string1 != null && string2 != null && !string1.equalsIgnoreCase(string2))
			return false;
		return true;
		
	}