def empty_string_check(string, raise_exception=True):

	"""
	Simple check to see if the string provided by parameter string is empty. False indicates the string is NOT empty.
	Parameter raise_exception determines if a ValueError exception should be raised if the string is empty.
	If raise_exception is False and the string is empty, True is returned.
	"""

	if string != '':
		return False
	if raise_exception:
		raise ValueError("Empty string detected!")
	return True