code: private boolean equalsNull(String value1, String value2) {
          return (value1 == value2 || value1 == null || (value1 != null && value1.equalsIgnoreCase(value2)));
      }
docs: Compares two values. Treats null as equal and is case insensitive
  
  @param value1 First value to compare
  @param value2 Second value to compare
  @return true if two values equals