A function to convert null to string

Question

I want to create a function to convert any null value e.g. from a database to an empty string. I know there are methods such as if value != null ?? value : String.Empty but is there a way to pass null to a method e.g.

public string nullToString(string? value) {     if(value == null) return empty;     return value } 

But I am not sure on the parameter syntax to do this..

I tried the above but it says not a nullable type.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

static string NullToString( object Value ) {      // Value.ToString() allows for Value being DBNull, but will also convert int, double, etc.     return Value == null ? "" : Value.ToString();      // If this is not what you want then this form may suit you better, handles 'Null' and DBNull otherwise tries a straight cast     // which will throw if Value isn't actually a string object.     //return Value == null || Value == DBNull.Value ? "" : (string)Value;   } 

Answer 2

When you get a NULL value from a database, the value returned is DBNull.Value on which case, you can simply call .ToString() and it will return ""

Example:

 reader["Column"].ToString()  

Gets you "" if the value returned is DBNull.Value

If the scenario is not always a database, then I'd go for an Extension method:

public static class Extensions {      public static string EmptyIfNull(this object value)     {         if (value == null)             return "";         return value.ToString();     } } 

Usage:

string someVar = null;  someVar.EmptyIfNull();