HiveConf getConf() {
    if (conf == null) {
      LOG.warn("Conf hasn't been set yet. Using defaults.");
      conf = new HiveConf();
    }
    return conf;
  }
2 HCatTables are considered equivalent if {@code lhs.diff(rhs).equals(NO_DIFF) == true; }
hcatalog/webhcat/java-client/src/main/java/org/apache/hive/hcatalog/api/HCatTable.java