For the equivalent of NVL() and ISNULL() use:
IFNULL(column, altValue)
column
: The column you are evaluating.
altValue
: The value you want to return if 'column' is null.
Example:
SELECT IFNULL(middle_name, 'N/A') FROM person;
*Note: The COALESCE() function works the same as it does for other databases.
Sources: