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.NET Framework Class Library
String..::.IsNullOrEmpty Method

Updated: December 2010

Indicates whether the specified string is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or an Empty string.

Namespace: System
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Syntax
Public Shared Function IsNullOrEmpty ( _
	value As String _
) As Boolean
public static bool IsNullOrEmpty(
	string value
)
public:
static bool IsNullOrEmpty(
	String^ value
)
static member IsNullOrEmpty : 
        value:string -> bool 

Parameters

value
Type: System..::.String
The string to test.

Return Value

Type: System..::.Boolean
true if the value parameter is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or an empty string (""); otherwise, false.
Remarks

IsNullOrEmpty is a convenience method that enables you to simultaneously test whether a String is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic) or its value is Empty. It is equivalent to the following code:


result = s Is Nothing OrElse s = String.Empty


result = s == null || s == String.Empty;


result = s == nullptr || s == String::Empty;

Examples

The following example determines whether each of three strings has a value, is an empty string or is nullNothingnullptra null reference (Nothing in Visual Basic).


Class Sample
   Public Shared Sub Main()
      Dim s1 As String = "abcd"
      Dim s2 As String = ""
      Dim s3 As String = Nothing

      Console.WriteLine("String s1 {0}.", Test(s1))
      Console.WriteLine("String s2 {0}.", Test(s2))
      Console.WriteLine("String s3 {0}.", Test(s3))
   End Sub

   Public Shared Function Test(s As String) As String
      If String.IsNullOrEmpty(s) Then
         Return "is null or empty"
      Else
         Return String.Format("(""{0}"") is not null or empty", s)
      End If
   End Function 
End Class  
' The example displays the following output:
'       String s1 ("abcd") is not null or empty.
'       String s2 is null or empty.
'       String s3 is null or empty.


using System;

class Sample 
{
    public static void Main() 
    {
    string s1 = "abcd";
    string s2 = "";
    string s3 = null;

    Console.WriteLine("String s1 {0}.", Test(s1));
    Console.WriteLine("String s2 {0}.", Test(s2));
    Console.WriteLine("String s3 {0}.", Test(s3));
    }

    public static String Test(string s)
    {
    if (String.IsNullOrEmpty(s)) 
        return "is null or empty";
    else
        return String.Format("(\"{0}\") is not null or empty", s);
    }
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       String s1 ("abcd") is not null or empty.
//       String s2 is null or empty.
//       String s3 is null or empty.


using namespace System;
String^ Test( String^ s )
{
   if (String::IsNullOrEmpty(s))
      return "is null or empty";
   else
      return String::Format( "(\"{0}\") is not null or empty", s );
}

int main()
{
   String^ s1 = "abcd";
   String^ s2 = "";
   String^ s3 = nullptr;
   Console::WriteLine( "String s1 {0}.", Test( s1 ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "String s2 {0}.", Test( s2 ) );
   Console::WriteLine( "String s3 {0}.", Test( s3 ) );
}
// The example displays the following output:
//       String s1 ("abcd") is not null or empty.
//       String s2 is null or empty.
//       String s3 is null or empty.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Portable Class Library

Supported in: Portable Class Library
Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.
Change History

Date

History

Reason

December 2010

Expanded the Remarks section and modified the example.

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