Nice (and compact) solution !! Still depends on the precedence priorities of the language / the optimization of the underlaying compiler .. More safe and maintainable code: ------------------------------------ bool res = false; if (null == dt) else if (null == dt.Rows) else if (dt.Rows.Count < 0) else res = (1 == (int)dt.Rows[0]["Number"]); return res; ------------------------------------ Rules to be applied : (1) : prevent against '=' instead of '==' : always put constants first (2) : always control potential nulls even if seems useless versus construction rules (ex null == dt.Rows) (3) : provide debugging / tracing points in case of future problems (4) : write readable code (5) : single return output point Shears and happy new year.

modified on Saturday, January 10, 2009 5:03 AM

Finding null pointer risks is not easy at all, even with carefull re reading. I can help finding then (nearly!!) all in C#, VB6 and java. For this risk and lots of others, have a look at http://d.cr.free.fr/indexen.html