code: static byte[][] getPathComponents(String[] strings) {
      if (strings.length == 0) {
        return new byte[][]{null};
      }
      byte[][] bytes = new byte[strings.length][];
      for (int i = 0; i < strings.length; i++)
        bytes[i] =  DFSUtil.string2Bytes(strings[i]);
      return bytes;
    }
docs: Convert strings to byte arrays for path components.