options.rb

# Option 1
info = if publication
  "Title: #{ publication.title } (ID: #{ publication.id })"
else
  'N/A'
end

# Option 2
info = case publication
when Publication then puts "Title: #{ publication.title } (ID: #{ publication.id })"
when nil         then puts 'N/A'
end

# Option 3 (brevity)
info = publication ? "Title: #{ publication.title } (ID: #{ publication.id })" : 'N/A'

# Option 4 (readability)
if publication
  info = "Title: #{ publication.title } (ID: #{ publication.id })"
else
  info = 'N/A'
end

class Publication
  def info
    "Title: #{title} (ID: #{id})"
  end
end

class NullPublication
  def info
    'N/A'
  end
end

# ideally somewhere much earlier in the system
publication ||= NullPublication.new

info = publication.info