reading from sqldatareader

[pgraeve]

What is the BEST / HIGHEST PERFORMANCE method of reading data from a SqlDataReader and returning a "default" value if the value from the reader is null. I have several different methods that all work but all involve calling a seperate void to test the values or catch the null exception. I just keep thinking there has to be a better way - i.e., one "slick" and simple line of code; but I can't seem to find it???

[Heath Stewart]

if (value == null) return defaultValue;

Don't rely on exceptions for this purpose because they are expensive to catch and thus decrease performance. Also, value types (like numeric types, booleans, DateTime, etc.) can't be null, so you'll already get their default value (0, false, etc.) or DBNull depending on how things are set up).

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