Christian Schneider <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Before it gets forgotten: I still think that
> $x = ifsetor(mixed var, mixed var [, ...]);
> with expressions in all parts is the way to go.
>
> Example usage:
> $a = ifsetor($_REQUEST['x'], $db->get('x'), 'default_x');
>
> And I also think that the name ifsetor has to be reevaluated :-)
This is the exact usage and meaning of the SQL function coalesce(). That may
be an appropriate name.
>From the sqlite documentation:
coalesce(X,Y,...) Return a copy of the first non-NULL argument. If all
arguments are NULL then NULL is returned. There must be
at least 2 arguments.
And from the postgres documentation:
COALESCE(value [, ...])
The COALESCE function returns the first of its arguments that is not
null. Null is returned only if all arguments are null. This is often
useful to substitute a default value for null values when data is
retrieved for display, for example:
SELECT COALESCE(description, short_description, '(none)') ...
Like a CASE expression, COALESCE will not evaluate arguments that are not
needed to determine the result; that is, arguments to the right of the
first non-null argument are not evaluated.
The coalesce() function is from the ANSI/ISO SQL:1999 standard, so its use has
been around for a while.
Derrell
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