2 files changed, 15 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/POITestCase.java b/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/POITestCase.java
index a8cc8e1db6..a6cb26a901 100644
--- a/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/POITestCase.java
+++ b/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/POITestCase.java
@@ -44,6 +44,14 @@ import org.apache.poi.util.Internal;
  */
 @Internal
 public final class POITestCase {
+    public static void assertStartsWith(String string, String prefix) {
+        assertNotNull(string);
+        assertNotNull(prefix);
+        
+        final int len = Math.min(string.length(), prefix.length());
+        assertEquals("string does not start with prefix", prefix, string.substring(0, len));
+    }
+    
     public static void assertContains(String haystack, String needle) {
         assertNotNull(haystack);
         assertTrue(
diff --git a/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/TestPOITestCase.java b/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/TestPOITestCase.java
index fd9f3d1ad9..314009604c 100644
--- a/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/TestPOITestCase.java
+++ b/src/testcases/org/apache/poi/TestPOITestCase.java
@@ -34,6 +34,13 @@ import org.junit.Test;
  */
 public final class TestPOITestCase {
     @Test
+    public void assertStartsWith() {
+        POITestCase.assertStartsWith("Apache POI", "");
+        POITestCase.assertStartsWith("Apache POI", "Apache");
+        POITestCase.assertStartsWith("Apache POI", "Apache POI");
+    }
+    
+    @Test
     public void assertContains() {
         POITestCase.assertContains("There is a needle in this haystack", "needle");
         /*try {