title: Using StringBuilder for very few concatenations
body: <p>Everyone (or everyone who has been taught) knows that <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.text.stringbuilder.aspx" rel="nofollow">StringBuilder</a> is the way to go for dynamically building a string with many concatenations.</p>
  
  <p>Due to (I must confess) mostly laziness, if I am doing a few concatenations (say, around 3), I will use a plain old String.  I guess I just can't handle having that extra instantiation and toString.</p>
  
  <p>Is using a plain old String in this scenario poor practice?  Is there any extra overhead for using a StringBuilder vs. a String in this context, or would StringBuilder still be more efficient?</p>
  
  <p>Specific Examples:</p>
  
  <pre><code>    Dim PractitionerName As String = CurrentApplicant.FirstName
      If CurrentApplicant.Demographics.MiddleInitial &lt;&gt; "" Then
          PractitionerName &amp;= " " &amp; CurrentApplicant.Demographics.MiddleInitial
      End If
      If CurrentApplicant.LastName &lt;&gt; "" Then
          PractitionerName &amp;= " " &amp; CurrentApplicant.LastName
      End If
  
      Dim Endorsements As String = ""
      For Each Endorsement As IowaLicensure.LicenseEndorsement In PractitionerLicense.LicenseEndorsements
          Endorsements &amp;= Endorsement.EndorsementType.Description &amp; VbCrLf
      Next
  </code></pre>