title: COALESCE() for blank (but not null) fields
body: <p>I have two fields that I'm comparing with MySQL's function <a href="http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/comparison-operators.html#function_coalesce" rel="noreferrer">COALESCE()</a>. For example, <code>COALESCE(Field1, Field2)</code>. The problem is, Field1 is sometimes blank but not null; since it's not null <code>COALESCE()</code> selects Field1, even though its blank. In that case, I need it to select Field2.</p>
  
  <p>I know I can write a if-then-else (CASE) statement in the query to check for this, but is there a nice simple function like <code>COALESCE()</code> for blank-but-not-null fields?</p>