title: Shortest way to check for null and assign another value if not
body: <p>I am pulling <code>varchar</code> values out of a DB and want to set the <code>string</code> I am assigning them to as "" if they are <code>null</code>. I'm currently doing it like this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(planRec.approved_by) == true)
    this.approved_by = "";
  else
    this.approved_by = planRec.approved_by.toString();
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>There seems like there should be a way to do this in a single line something like:</p>
  
  <pre><code>this.approved_by = "" || planRec.approved_by.toString();
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However I can't find an optimal way to do this.  Is there a better way or is what I have the best way to do it?</p>