title: The best practice for not null if statements
body: <p>I've been writing my "If this variable is not empty" statements like so:</p>
  
  <pre><code>if ($var != '') {
  // Yup
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>But I've asked if this is correct, it hasn't caused a problem for me. Here is the answer I found online:</p>
  
  <pre><code>if (!($error == NULL)) {
  /// Yup
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>This actually looks longer than my approach, but is it better? If so, why?</p>