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kotlinlang

Given

```val string: String? = "possibly-null"```
Which of the following do people prefer to get either the value or an empty string if it's null?

```val stringOrEmpty: String = string ?: ""```
:one:

or

```val stringOrEmpty: String = string.orEmpty()```
:two:

The main (only?) reason I can see for `orEmpty()` would be if we wanted to keep chaining stuff on the result. Sort of like `string.orEmpty().capitalize()` or something.

I think `orEmpty` conveys the intention better.

I always use `.orEmpty()` if available for consistency.
Makes the code more comprehensible than the cryptic `?: ""` esp. in chains longer than a simple `a.onEmpty()`.
Also, longer chains would require parenthesis with `(a ?: "").foo()…`.
Also, in other scenarios like `?: emptyList()` creating an empty value is quite lengthy.

When it comes to chaining, I'm definitely more for `orEmpty()`. The same goes for lists (`.orEmpty()` &gt; `?: emptyList()`).