String.IsNullOrEmpty like function for VARCHARs in SQL?

Question

Say I\'ve got a function or stored procedure that takes in several VARCHAR parameters. I\'ve gotten tired of writing SQL like this to test if these parameters have a value:

Answer 1

Here is my function that "extends" ISNULL and checks for empty as well. The test value is checked for null and if it is not null it is trimmed and then checked for length.

The function returns the test string if it is NOT Null or Empty, otherwise the second string is returned.

CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[ISNULLOREMPTY]
(   
    @value NVARCHAR(max),
    @return NVARCHAR(max)
)
RETURNS NVARCHAR(MAX)
AS
BEGIN 

IF (@value IS NULL)
BEGIN
    RETURN @return
END
ELSE
BEGIN
    IF (LEN(LTRIM(@value)) = 0)
    BEGIN 
        RETURN @return
    END 
END

RETURN @value;
END
GO