title: Java Check String Variable Length (with Substring)
body: <p>I have a String variable which can have a different length every time it runs.
  With it, I check what it starts with, for example:</p>
  
  <pre><code> public void defineLocation(){
              if (newLocation.substring(0,2).equals("DO") || newLocation.substring(0,2).equals("30") || newLocation.substring(0,2).equals("21")) {
                  locationInDc = "DOOR";
              } else if (newLocation.substring(0,2).equals("VT") || newLocation.substring(0,3).equals("MUF")) {
                  locationInDc = "BLOUBLOU";
              } else if (newLocation.substring(0,3).equals("MAH")) {
                  locationInDc = "BLOBLO";           
              } else if (newLocation.substring(0,7).equals("Zone 72") || newLocation.substring(0,7).equals("Zone 70")){
                  locationInDc = "BLOFBLOF";
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I know this is not the most efficient way and it is bound to break as, if my variable is not in either of the first 3 checks but still has less characters than 7 then it will throw an error. </p>
  
  <p>Is there a more "correct" way to do this? Should I check first how many characters the string contains and then point it to the right checks/"ifs"? Thank you.</p>