How to get the length of a field value, not the length of DB's CHAR(20)

Question

Hello.
I'm trying to handle a String from my DataBase and get its length:
String myName;
int i;
PreparedStatement sql = Conn.prepareStatement("SELECT NAME FROM MY_TABLE");
ResultSet results = sql.executeQuery();
results.next();
myName = results.getString("NAME");
i = myName.length();
out.println("The value is " + myName + " and the length is " + String.valueOf(i) );
I get:
" The value is Tom and the lengh is 20 "
20 is the length of the field (it's a CHAR (20) ), but I would like to get the length
of 'Tom'.
On other hand, I would like to detect if this value is 'Tom' or not, but trying with:
if (myName.equals("Tom")) {...}
or
if (myName == "Tom") {...}
There is no response.
Any experience?

Answer 1

myName = results.getString("NAME");
if(myName!=null) myName = myName.trim(); //Take out trailing spaces
i = myName.length();Sudha