diff --git a/apis/cloudstack/src/main/java/org/jclouds/cloudstack/domain/ServiceOffering.java b/apis/cloudstack/src/main/java/org/jclouds/cloudstack/domain/ServiceOffering.java
index 7011e64a7f..b5bd47f365 100644
--- a/apis/cloudstack/src/main/java/org/jclouds/cloudstack/domain/ServiceOffering.java
+++ b/apis/cloudstack/src/main/java/org/jclouds/cloudstack/domain/ServiceOffering.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import com.google.common.base.Joiner;
 import com.google.common.base.Objects;
 import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 import com.google.common.base.Splitter;
+import com.google.common.base.Strings;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 
 /**
@@ -259,7 +260,7 @@ public class ServiceOffering implements Comparable<ServiceOffering> {
    private final int memory;
    private final boolean haSupport;
    private final StorageType storageType;
-   private final String tags;
+   private final Set<String> tags;
    private final boolean defaultUse;
    private final String hostTags;
    private final boolean systemOffering;
@@ -285,7 +286,8 @@ public class ServiceOffering implements Comparable<ServiceOffering> {
       this.memory = memory;
       this.haSupport = haSupport;
       this.storageType = storageType;
-      this.tags = tags;
+      this.tags = !(Strings.emptyToNull(tags) == null) ? ImmutableSet.copyOf(Splitter.on(',').split(tags))
+               : ImmutableSet.<String> of();
       this.defaultUse = defaultUse;
       this.hostTags = hostTags;
       this.systemOffering = systemOffering;
@@ -377,7 +379,7 @@ public class ServiceOffering implements Comparable<ServiceOffering> {
     * @return the tags for the service offering
     */
    public Set<String> getTags() {
-      return tags == null ? ImmutableSet.<String>of() : ImmutableSet.copyOf(Splitter.on(',').split(tags));
+      return tags;
    }
 
    /**
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/OperatingSystem.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/OperatingSystem.java
index 8135675c13..9851cca9ad 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/OperatingSystem.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/OperatingSystem.java
@@ -18,11 +18,14 @@
  */
 package org.jclouds.compute.domain;
 
+import static com.google.common.base.Objects.equal;
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
 
 import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
 import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 
 /**
  * Running Operating system
@@ -95,6 +98,33 @@ public class OperatingSystem {
    protected String description;
    protected boolean is64Bit;
 
+   @Override
+   public boolean equals(Object o) {
+      if (this == o)
+         return true;
+      if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass())
+         return false;
+      OperatingSystem that = OperatingSystem.class.cast(o);
+      return equal(this.family, that.family) && equal(this.name, that.name) && equal(this.arch, that.arch)
+               && equal(this.version, that.version) && equal(this.description, that.description)
+               && equal(this.is64Bit, that.is64Bit);
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public int hashCode() {
+      return Objects.hashCode(family, name, arch, version, description, is64Bit);
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public String toString() {
+      return string().toString();
+   }
+
+   protected ToStringHelper string() {
+      return Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("family", family).add("name", name).add("arch", arch)
+               .add("version", version).add("description", description).add("is64Bit", is64Bit);
+   }
+
    // for serialization/deserialization
    protected OperatingSystem() {
 
@@ -192,66 +222,8 @@ public class OperatingSystem {
       return is64Bit;
    }
 
-   @Override
-   public int hashCode() {
-      final int prime = 31;
-      int result = 1;
-      result = prime * result + ((arch == null) ? 0 : arch.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((description == null) ? 0 : description.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((family == null) ? 0 : family.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + (is64Bit ? 1231 : 1237);
-      result = prime * result + ((name == null) ? 0 : name.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((version == null) ? 0 : version.hashCode());
-      return result;
-   }
-
-   @Override
-   public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-      if (this == obj)
-         return true;
-      if (obj == null)
-         return false;
-      if (!(obj instanceof OperatingSystem))
-         return false;
-      OperatingSystem other = (OperatingSystem) obj;
-      if (arch == null) {
-         if (other.arch != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!arch.equals(other.arch))
-         return false;
-      if (description == null) {
-         if (other.description != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!description.equals(other.description))
-         return false;
-      if (family == null) {
-         if (other.family != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!family.equals(other.family))
-         return false;
-      if (is64Bit != other.is64Bit)
-         return false;
-      if (name == null) {
-         if (other.name != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!name.equals(other.name))
-         return false;
-      if (version == null) {
-         if (other.version != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!version.equals(other.version))
-         return false;
-      return true;
-   }
-
    public Builder toBuilder() {
       return builder().fromOperatingSystem(this);
    }
 
-   @Override
-   public String toString() {
-      return "[name=" + name + ", family=" + family + ", version=" + version + ", arch=" + arch + ", is64Bit="
-               + is64Bit + ", description=" + description + "]";
-   }
-
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/Processor.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/Processor.java
index 9eb404f901..4f8b9e017c 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/Processor.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/Processor.java
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@
  */
 package org.jclouds.compute.domain;
 
+import static com.google.common.base.Objects.equal;
+
+import com.google.common.base.Objects;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 import com.google.common.collect.ComparisonChain;
 
 /**
@@ -64,36 +68,27 @@ public class Processor implements Comparable<Processor> {
    }
 
    @Override
-   public String toString() {
-      return "[cores=" + cores + ", speed=" + speed + "]";
+   public boolean equals(Object o) {
+      if (this == o)
+         return true;
+      if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass())
+         return false;
+      Processor that = Processor.class.cast(o);
+      return equal(this.cores, that.cores) && equal(this.speed, that.speed);
    }
 
    @Override
    public int hashCode() {
-      final int prime = 31;
-      int result = 1;
-      long temp;
-      temp = Double.doubleToLongBits(cores);
-      result = prime * result + (int) (temp ^ (temp >>> 32));
-      temp = Double.doubleToLongBits(speed);
-      result = prime * result + (int) (temp ^ (temp >>> 32));
-      return result;
+      return Objects.hashCode(cores, speed);
    }
 
    @Override
-   public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-      if (this == obj)
-         return true;
-      if (obj == null)
-         return false;
-      if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
-         return false;
-      Processor other = (Processor) obj;
-      if (Double.doubleToLongBits(cores) != Double.doubleToLongBits(other.cores))
-         return false;
-      if (Double.doubleToLongBits(speed) != Double.doubleToLongBits(other.speed))
-         return false;
-      return true;
+   public String toString() {
+      return string().toString();
+   }
+
+   protected ToStringHelper string() {
+      return Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("cores", cores).add("speed", speed);
    }
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ComputeMetadataImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ComputeMetadataImpl.java
index d768e82a03..287adbf480 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ComputeMetadataImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ComputeMetadataImpl.java
@@ -91,11 +91,22 @@ public class ComputeMetadataImpl extends ResourceMetadataImpl<ComputeType> imple
    public int hashCode() {
       return Objects.hashCode(super.hashCode(), id);
    }
+   
+   protected ToStringHelper computeToStringPrefix() {
+      return Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("id", getId()).add("providerId", getProviderId())
+               .add("uri", getUri()).add("name", getName()).add("uri", getUri()).add("location", getLocation());
+   }
 
+   protected ToStringHelper addComputeToStringSuffix(ToStringHelper helper) {
+      if (getTags().size() > 0)
+         helper.add("tags", getTags());
+      if (getUserMetadata().size() > 0)
+         helper.add("userMetadata", getUserMetadata());
+      return helper;
+   }
+   
    protected ToStringHelper string() {
-      return Objects.toStringHelper("").add("type", getType()).add("id", id).add("providerId", getProviderId()).add(
-               "name", getName()).add("location", getLocation()).add("uri", getUri()).add("tags", getTags()).add(
-               "userMetadata", getUserMetadata());
+      return addComputeToStringSuffix(computeToStringPrefix());
    }
 
 }
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/HardwareImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/HardwareImpl.java
index 52e1bd92a1..f775f13198 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/HardwareImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/HardwareImpl.java
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import org.jclouds.domain.Location;
 import org.jclouds.domain.ResourceMetadata;
 import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
+import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 import com.google.common.base.Predicate;
 import com.google.common.collect.ComparisonChain;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableList;
@@ -111,14 +112,15 @@ public class HardwareImpl extends ComputeMetadataImpl implements Hardware {
       }
    }
 
-   /**
-    * {@inheritDoc}
-    */
    @Override
-   public String toString() {
-      return "[id=" + getId() + ", providerId=" + getProviderId() + ", name=" + getName() + ", processors="
-               + processors + ", ram=" + ram + ", volumes=" + volumes + ", hypervisor=" + hypervisor
-               + ", supportsImage=" + supportsImage + ", tags=" + tags + "]";
+   protected ToStringHelper string() {
+      ToStringHelper helper = computeToStringPrefix();
+      helper.add("processors", processors).add("ram", ram);
+      if (volumes.size() > 0)
+         helper.add("volumes", volumes);
+      helper.add("hypervisor", hypervisor);
+      helper.add("supportsImage", supportsImage);
+      return addComputeToStringSuffix(helper);
    }
 
    /**
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ImageImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ImageImpl.java
index ec9a821517..8be8473c0e 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ImageImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/ImageImpl.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import org.jclouds.domain.Location;
 import org.jclouds.domain.LoginCredentials;
 import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
-import com.google.common.base.Objects;
 import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 
 /**
@@ -124,11 +123,11 @@ public class ImageImpl extends ComputeMetadataImpl implements Image {
    // equals and toString from super are sufficient to establish identity equivalence
 
    protected ToStringHelper string() {
-      return Objects.toStringHelper("").add("id", getId()).add("providerId", getProviderId()).add("name", getName())
-               .add("os", getOperatingSystem()).add("description", getDescription()).add("version", getVersion()).add(
-                        "location", getLocation()).add("status", formatStatus(this)).add("loginUser",
-                        ((defaultCredentials != null) ? defaultCredentials.identity : null)).add("tags", getTags())
-               .add("userMetadata", getUserMetadata());
+      ToStringHelper helper = computeToStringPrefix();
+      helper.add("os", getOperatingSystem()).add("description", getDescription()).add("version", getVersion())
+               .add("status", formatStatus(this))
+               .add("loginUser", ((defaultCredentials != null) ? defaultCredentials.identity : null));
+      return addComputeToStringSuffix(helper);
    }
 
 }
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/NodeMetadataImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/NodeMetadataImpl.java
index c3bb5ea833..c3e5c1a83c 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/NodeMetadataImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/NodeMetadataImpl.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import org.jclouds.domain.Location;
 import org.jclouds.domain.LoginCredentials;
 import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
-import com.google.common.base.Objects;
 import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 
@@ -193,12 +192,14 @@ public class NodeMetadataImpl extends ComputeMetadataImpl implements NodeMetadat
    // equals and toString from super are sufficient to establish identity equivalence
 
    protected ToStringHelper string() {
-      return Objects.toStringHelper("").add("id", getId()).add("providerId", getProviderId()).add("group", getGroup())
-               .add("name", getName()).add("location", getLocation()).add("uri", getUri()).add("imageId", getImageId())
-               .add("os", getOperatingSystem()).add("status", formatStatus(this)).add("loginPort", getLoginPort()).add(
-                        "hostname", getHostname()).add("privateAddresses", getPrivateAddresses()).add(
-                        "publicAddresses", getPublicAddresses()).add("hardware", getHardware()).add("loginUser",
-                        ((credentials != null) ? credentials.identity : null)).add("tags", getTags()).add(
-                        "userMetadata", getUserMetadata());
+      ToStringHelper helper = computeToStringPrefix();
+      helper.add("group", getGroup()).add("imageId", getImageId()).add("os", getOperatingSystem())
+               .add("status", formatStatus(this)).add("loginPort", getLoginPort()).add("hostname", getHostname());
+      if (getPrivateAddresses().size() > 0)
+         helper.add("privateAddresses", getPrivateAddresses());
+      if (getPublicAddresses().size() > 0)
+         helper.add("publicAddresses", getPublicAddresses());
+      helper.add("hardware", getHardware()).add("loginUser", ((credentials != null) ? credentials.identity : null));
+      return addComputeToStringSuffix(helper);
    }
 }
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/TemplateImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/TemplateImpl.java
index bc0eb8342d..5bcf6cf676 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/TemplateImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/TemplateImpl.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  */
 package org.jclouds.compute.domain.internal;
 
+import static com.google.common.base.Objects.equal;
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
 
 import org.jclouds.compute.domain.Hardware;
@@ -26,6 +27,9 @@ import org.jclouds.compute.domain.Template;
 import org.jclouds.compute.options.TemplateOptions;
 import org.jclouds.domain.Location;
 
+import com.google.common.base.Objects;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
+
 /**
  * 
  * @author Adrian Cole
@@ -33,13 +37,13 @@ import org.jclouds.domain.Location;
 public class TemplateImpl implements Template {
 
    private final Image image;
-   private final Hardware size;
+   private final Hardware hardware;
    private final Location location;
    private final TemplateOptions options;
 
-   public TemplateImpl(Image image, Hardware size, Location location, TemplateOptions options) {
+   public TemplateImpl(Image image, Hardware hardware, Location location, TemplateOptions options) {
       this.image = checkNotNull(image, "image");
-      this.size = checkNotNull(size, "size");
+      this.hardware = checkNotNull(hardware, "hardware");
       this.location = checkNotNull(location, "location");
       this.options = checkNotNull(options, "options");
    }
@@ -57,7 +61,7 @@ public class TemplateImpl implements Template {
     */
    @Override
    public Hardware getHardware() {
-      return size;
+      return hardware;
    }
 
    /**
@@ -77,52 +81,36 @@ public class TemplateImpl implements Template {
    }
 
    @Override
-   public int hashCode() {
-      final int prime = 31;
-      int result = 1;
-      result = prime * result + ((image == null) ? 0 : image.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((location == null) ? 0 : location.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((options == null) ? 0 : options.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((size == null) ? 0 : size.hashCode());
-      return result;
+   public boolean equals(Object o) {
+      if (this == o)
+         return true;
+      if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass())
+         return false;
+      TemplateImpl that = TemplateImpl.class.cast(o);
+      return equal(this.image, that.image) && equal(this.hardware, that.hardware)
+               && equal(this.location, that.location) && equal(this.options, that.options);
    }
 
    @Override
-   public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-      if (this == obj)
-         return true;
-      if (obj == null)
-         return false;
-      if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
-         return false;
-      TemplateImpl other = (TemplateImpl) obj;
-      if (image == null) {
-         if (other.image != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!image.equals(other.image))
-         return false;
-      if (location == null) {
-         if (other.location != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!location.equals(other.location))
-         return false;
-      if (options == null) {
-         if (other.options != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!options.equals(other.options))
-         return false;
-      if (size == null) {
-         if (other.size != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!size.equals(other.size))
-         return false;
-      return true;
+   public int hashCode() {
+      return Objects.hashCode(image, hardware, location, options);
    }
 
    @Override
    public String toString() {
-      return "[location=" + location + ", image=" + image + ", size=" + size + ", options="
-               + options + "]";
+      return string().toString();
+   }
+
+   protected ToStringHelper string() {
+      ToStringHelper helper = Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("image", image).add("hardware", hardware)
+               .add("location", location);
+      if (!options.equals(defaultOptions()))
+         helper.add("options", options);
+      return helper;
+   }
+
+   protected TemplateOptions defaultOptions() {
+      return TemplateOptions.NONE;
    }
 
    /**
@@ -130,7 +118,7 @@ public class TemplateImpl implements Template {
     */
    @Override
    public Template clone() {
-      return new TemplateImpl(image, size, location, options.clone());
+      return new TemplateImpl(image, hardware, location, options.clone());
    }
 
 }
diff --git a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/VolumeImpl.java b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/VolumeImpl.java
index fd71d11565..ea9206d4e1 100644
--- a/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/VolumeImpl.java
+++ b/compute/src/main/java/org/jclouds/compute/domain/internal/VolumeImpl.java
@@ -18,11 +18,15 @@
  */
 package org.jclouds.compute.domain.internal;
 
+import static com.google.common.base.Objects.equal;
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
 
 import org.jclouds.compute.domain.Volume;
 import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
+import com.google.common.base.Objects;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
+
 /**
  * @author Adrian Cole
  */
@@ -30,13 +34,40 @@ public class VolumeImpl implements Volume {
 
    private final String id;
    private final Volume.Type type;
-   private final @Nullable
-   Float size;
-   private final @Nullable
-   String device;
+   @Nullable
+   private final Float size;
+   @Nullable
+   private final String device;
    private final boolean bootDevice;
    private final boolean durable;
 
+   @Override
+   public boolean equals(Object o) {
+      if (this == o)
+         return true;
+      if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass())
+         return false;
+      VolumeImpl that = VolumeImpl.class.cast(o);
+      return equal(this.id, that.id) && equal(this.getType(), that.getType()) && equal(this.size, that.size)
+               && equal(this.device, that.device) && equal(this.bootDevice, that.bootDevice)
+               && equal(this.durable, that.durable);
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public int hashCode() {
+      return Objects.hashCode(id, size, device, bootDevice, durable);
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public String toString() {
+      return string().toString();
+   }
+
+   protected ToStringHelper string() {
+      return Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("id", id).add("type", getType()).add("size", size)
+               .add("device", device).add("bootDevice", bootDevice).add("durable", durable);
+   }
+
    public VolumeImpl(@Nullable String id, Volume.Type type, @Nullable Float size, @Nullable String device,
             boolean bootDevice, boolean durable) {
       this.id = id;
@@ -103,62 +134,5 @@ public class VolumeImpl implements Volume {
       return bootDevice;
    }
 
-   /**
-    * {@inheritDoc}
-    */
-   @Override
-   public String toString() {
-      return "[id=" + getId() + ", type=" + type + ", size=" + size + ", device=" + device + ", durable=" + durable
-               + ", isBootDevice=" + bootDevice + "]";
-   }
-
-   @Override
-   public int hashCode() {
-      final int prime = 31;
-      int result = 1;
-      result = prime * result + (bootDevice ? 1231 : 1237);
-      result = prime * result + ((device == null) ? 0 : device.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + (durable ? 1231 : 1237);
-      result = prime * result + ((id == null) ? 0 : id.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((size == null) ? 0 : size.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((type == null) ? 0 : type.hashCode());
-      return result;
-   }
-
-   @Override
-   public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-      if (this == obj)
-         return true;
-      if (obj == null)
-         return false;
-      if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
-         return false;
-      VolumeImpl other = (VolumeImpl) obj;
-      if (bootDevice != other.bootDevice)
-         return false;
-      if (device == null) {
-         if (other.device != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!device.equals(other.device))
-         return false;
-      if (durable != other.durable)
-         return false;
-      if (id == null) {
-         if (other.id != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!id.equals(other.id))
-         return false;
-      if (size == null) {
-         if (other.size != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!size.equals(other.size))
-         return false;
-      if (type == null) {
-         if (other.type != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!type.equals(other.type))
-         return false;
-      return true;
-   }
 
 }
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/LocationImpl.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/LocationImpl.java
index 46153efe01..3931a8f15a 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/LocationImpl.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/LocationImpl.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  */
 package org.jclouds.domain.internal;
 
+import static com.google.common.base.Objects.equal;
 import static com.google.common.base.Preconditions.checkNotNull;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
@@ -28,6 +29,8 @@ import org.jclouds.domain.Location;
 import org.jclouds.domain.LocationScope;
 import org.jclouds.javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
+import com.google.common.base.Objects;
+import com.google.common.base.Objects.ToStringHelper;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
 import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableSet;
 
@@ -46,6 +49,41 @@ public class LocationImpl implements Location, Serializable {
    private final Set<String> iso3166Codes;
    private final Map<String, Object> metadata;
 
+   @Override
+   public boolean equals(Object o) {
+      if (this == o)
+         return true;
+      if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass())
+         return false;
+      LocationImpl that = LocationImpl.class.cast(o);
+      return equal(this.scope, that.scope) && equal(this.id, that.id) && equal(this.parent, that.parent);
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public int hashCode() {
+      return Objects.hashCode(scope, id, parent);
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   public String toString() {
+      return string().toString();
+   }
+
+  
+   protected ToStringHelper string() {
+      ToStringHelper helper = Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("scope", scope).add("id", id)
+               .add("description", description);
+
+      if (parent != null)
+         helper.add("parent", parent.getId());
+
+      if (iso3166Codes.size() > 0)
+         helper.add("iso3166Codes", iso3166Codes);
+      if (metadata.size() > 0)
+         helper.add("metadata", metadata);
+      return helper;
+   }
+
    public LocationImpl(LocationScope scope, String id, String description, @Nullable Location parent,
             Iterable<String> iso3166Codes, Map<String, Object> metadata) {
       this.scope = checkNotNull(scope, "scope");
@@ -104,66 +142,4 @@ public class LocationImpl implements Location, Serializable {
       return metadata;
    }
 
-   @Override
-   public int hashCode() {
-      final int prime = 31;
-      int result = 1;
-      result = prime * result + ((description == null) ? 0 : description.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((id == null) ? 0 : id.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((iso3166Codes == null) ? 0 : iso3166Codes.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((metadata == null) ? 0 : metadata.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((parent == null) ? 0 : parent.hashCode());
-      result = prime * result + ((scope == null) ? 0 : scope.hashCode());
-      return result;
-   }
-
-   @Override
-   public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-      if (this == obj)
-         return true;
-      if (obj == null)
-         return false;
-      if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
-         return false;
-      LocationImpl other = (LocationImpl) obj;
-      if (description == null) {
-         if (other.description != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!description.equals(other.description))
-         return false;
-      if (id == null) {
-         if (other.id != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!id.equals(other.id))
-         return false;
-      if (iso3166Codes == null) {
-         if (other.iso3166Codes != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!iso3166Codes.equals(other.iso3166Codes))
-         return false;
-      if (metadata == null) {
-         if (other.metadata != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!metadata.equals(other.metadata))
-         return false;
-      if (parent == null) {
-         if (other.parent != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!parent.equals(other.parent))
-         return false;
-      if (scope == null) {
-         if (other.scope != null)
-            return false;
-      } else if (!scope.equals(other.scope))
-         return false;
-      return true;
-   }
-
-   @Override
-   public String toString() {
-      return "[id=" + id + ", scope=" + scope + ", description=" + description + ", parent="
-               + ((parent == null) ? null : parent.getId()) + ", iso3166Codes=" + iso3166Codes + ", metadata="
-               + metadata + "]";
-   }
-
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/ResourceMetadataImpl.java b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/ResourceMetadataImpl.java
index 6cf424517e..3040e18c7f 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/ResourceMetadataImpl.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/jclouds/domain/internal/ResourceMetadataImpl.java
@@ -134,8 +134,8 @@ public abstract class ResourceMetadataImpl<T extends Enum<T>> implements Resourc
    }
 
    protected ToStringHelper string() {
-      return Objects.toStringHelper("").add("type", getType()).add("providerId", providerId).add("name", name).add(
-               "location", location).add("uri", uri).add("userMetadata", userMetadata);
+      return Objects.toStringHelper("").omitNullValues().add("type", getType()).add("providerId", providerId)
+               .add("name", name).add("location", location).add("uri", uri).add("userMetadata", userMetadata);
    }
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file