title: Set a String to "" or leave it null?
body: <p>I have some String variables which are getting the values from invoking the function <code>getParameter()</code> and some of this variables will probably be <code>null</code>.</p>
  
  <p>Later, I will evaluate this variables using <code>equals()</code> method. 
  Should I set all the String variables to the empty String (<code>""</code>) if they are <code>null</code> to avoid any problems?</p>