def chkstr(s, v):
    """
    Small routine for checking whether a string is empty
    even a string

    :param s: the string in question
    :param v: variable name
    """
    if type(s) != str:
        raise TypeError('{var} must be str'.format(var=v))
    if not s:
        raise ValueError('{var} cannot be empty'.format(var=v))
