def is_first_char(input_string, char):
    """ INPUT:
            input_string = string of any length, typically a line in a file being parsed
            char = string of the character we want to compare with to determine a match
        RETURN:
            True  ; if char == first character in input_string
            False ; if char != first character in input_string, or if input_string is empty
    """
    input_string = input_string.strip() # remove empty spaces around string

    if len(input_string) == 0 :
        return False
    if ( input_string[0] == char ):
        return True
    return False