private static void validatePath(String path) {
    if (path == null) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("path cannot be null");
    }
    if (path.isEmpty()) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("path cannot be empty");
    }
    if (path.equals(SEPARATOR)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException(String.format("path cannot be ' %s '", SEPARATOR));
    }
  }
@throws IllegalArgumentException if path is not valid
geode-core/src/main/java/org/apache/geode/internal/cache/GemFireCacheImpl.java