Something which I've used in the past (edited because I spotted some mistakes while re-reading the code [grin]): public readonly struct Option<T> {

Something which I've used in the past (edited because I spotted some mistakes while re-reading the code [grin]): public readonly struct Option<T> { public static readonly Option<T> NONE = new Option<T>(); // public T Value { get; } public bool HasValue { get; } public Option(T value) { Value = value; HasValue = value is { }; } public Option<TR> Select<TR>(Func<T, TR> selector) => HasValue ? new Option<TR>(selector(Value)) : Option<TR>.NONE; public Option<TR> SelectMany<TR>(Func<T, Option<TR>> selector) => HasValue ? selector(Value) : Option<TR>.NONE; public T OrElse(T defValue = default) => HasValue ? Value : defValue; } You can of course add more utility functions besides these, eventually as extension methods, but it's a starting point.