The only strings that evaluate to false are '' (the empty string) and '0'. So, if you can afford to also overwrite the string when it comprises a single zero character, you can use logical-or:

$var ||= '?';

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Hope that helps,

Athanasius <°(((>< contra mundum Iustus alius egestas vitae, eros Piratica,

In reply to Re: searching for clear ways to overwrite the empty string by Athanasius
in thread searching for clear ways to overwrite the empty string by Anonymous Monk

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