SqlString.ToString returns literal "Null" value

[Anastasios Papadopoulos]

Hello all,

I have statements like the following in my Property Get:

Public Property AccountNumber() As String
Get
Return MyClass.AccountNumber.ToString
End Get
blah blah
End Property

where MyClass.AccountNumber is SqlString

The issue is that if MyClass.AccountNumber is null (in the database) my
property shown above returns a literal "Null" string when called.

Is this by design? How can I avoid it? I think returning an empty string
would be more appropriate than a value of "Null"...

Thanks in advance...

--
Anastasios Papadopoulos a.k.a. Cascader, Athens - Greece

[Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]]

"Anastasios Papadopoulos" <tp****@salesmanager.gr> schrieb:

Public Property AccountNumber() As String
Get
Return MyClass.AccountNumber.ToString
End Get
blah blah
End Property

where MyClass.AccountNumber is SqlString

The issue is that if MyClass.AccountNumber is null (in the database) my
property shown above returns a literal "Null" string when called.

Is this by design?
I believe it is.
How can I avoid it? I think returning an empty string
would be more appropriate than a value of "Null"...

Null values have different semantics than zero-length strings.

Workaround:

\\\
If AccountNumber.IsNull Then
Return ""
Else
Return AccountNumber.Value
End If
///

--
M S Herfried K. Wagner
M V P <URL:http://dotnet.mvps.org/>
V B <URL:http://classicvb.org/petition/>

[Anastasios Papadopoulos]

Herfried K. Wagner [MVP] wrote:

"Anastasios Papadopoulos" <tp****@salesmanager.gr> schrieb:

Public Property AccountNumber() As String
Get
Return MyClass.AccountNumber.ToString
End Get
blah blah
End Property

where MyClass.AccountNumber is SqlString

The issue is that if MyClass.AccountNumber is null (in the database)
my property shown above returns a literal "Null" string when called.

Is this by design?

I believe it is.

How can I avoid it? I think returning an empty string would be more
appropriate than a value of "Null"...

Null values have different semantics than zero-length strings.

Workaround:

\\\
If AccountNumber.IsNull Then
Return ""
Else
Return AccountNumber.Value
End If
///

Thank you very much for your reply.
I was afraid I might have to use something so ugly as all those Ifs in
my code... To many places to add checks and so many CPU cycles to
execute it... There should be something else, but thank's anyway.

--
Anastasios Papadopoulos a.k.a. Cascader, Athens - Greece