private static String stripLeadingSlash(String name){
  if (name.length() < 1 || name.charAt(0) != '/') {
    return name;
  }
  return name.substring(1);
}

private static String stripLeadingSlash ( String name ) { if ( name . length ( ) < 1 || name . charAt ( 0 ) != '/' ) { return name ; } return name . substring ( 1 ) ; }
removes a leading slash
