protected static boolean xequals(Object a, Object b) {
    if (a == null) {
      if (b == null)
        return true;
      else
        return false;
    }

    return a.equals(b);
  }
The base create permissions for ddl objects.
hcatalog/webhcat/svr/src/main/java/org/apache/hive/hcatalog/templeton/GroupPermissionsDesc.java