diff --git a/general_utils b/general_utils
index ae39f21..2cc0133 100755
--- a/general_utils
+++ b/general_utils
@@ -6,6 +6,24 @@ source ./log_helpers
 if [ "${general_utils_sourced:-1}" = "1" ]; then    # include only once
     readonly general_utils_sourced=${BASH_SOURCE[0]}
 
+    # compare two strings
+    equal () {
+        case "$1" in
+            "$2")   
+                return 0
+                ;;
+        esac
+        return 1    # they don't match
+    }
+
+    # check if second string is contained in first string
+    contains () {
+        if grep -qE "$2" <<< $1; then
+            return 0
+        fi
+        return 1    # not contained
+    }
+
     exec_process_substitution () {
         local func="${FUNCNAME[0]}"
         log_debug "$func:${LINENO} exec-ing [$*]"