Helpful Extension Methods for Strings

StringExt.cs

namespace System
{
    public static class StringExt
    {
        public static bool EqualsWithCaseIgnore(this string a, string b)
        {
            if (a == null && b == null)
                return true;
            else if (a == null && b != null)
                return false;
            else if (a != null && b == null)
                return false;
            else
                return string.Equals(a.Trim(), b.Trim(), StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase);
        }

        public static T As<T>(this string str)
        {
            var type = Nullable.GetUnderlyingType(typeof(T));

            if (type == null)
                type = typeof(T);
            else
            {
                if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(str))
                    return default(T);
            }

            return (T)Convert.ChangeType(str, type);
        }
    }
}