void setConf(Configuration conf) {
    if (conf instanceof HiveConf) {
      this.conf = (HiveConf)conf;
    }
    else {
      this.conf = new HiveConf(conf, getClass());
    }
  }
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