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Ternary operator are a substitute for if...else statement. So before you move any further in this tutorial, go through C# if...else statement (if you haven't).

The syntax of ternary operator is:

The ternary operator works as follows:

  • If the expression stated by Condition is true , the result of Expression1 is returned by the ternary operator.
  • If it is false , the result of Expression2 is returned.

For example, we can replace the following code

Why is it called ternary operator?

This operator takes 3 operand , hence called ternary operator.

Example 1: C# Ternary Operator

When we run the program, the output will be:

In the above program, 2 is assigned to a variable number . Then, the ternary operator is used to check if number is even or not.

Since, 2 is even, the expression ( number % 2 == 0 ) returns true . We can also use ternary operator to return numbers, strings and characters.

Instead of storing the return value in variable isEven , we can directly print the value returned by ternary operator as,

When to use ternary operator?

Ternary operator can be used to replace multi lines of code with a single line. However, we shouldn't overuse it.

For example, we can replace the following if..else if code

with a single line of code

As we can see, the use of ternary operator may decrease the length of code but it makes us difficult to understand the logic of the code.

Hence, it's better to only use ternary operator to replace simple if else statements.

Table of Contents

  • Ternary Operator Introduction
  • Example: C# Ternary operator
  • When to use it?

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C# - Ternary Operator ?:

C# includes a decision-making operator ?: which is called the conditional operator or ternary operator. It is the short form of the if else conditions.

The ternary operator starts with a boolean condition. If this condition evaluates to true then it will execute the first statement after ? , otherwise the second statement after : will be executed.

The following example demonstrates the ternary operator.

Above, a conditional expression x > y returns true, so the first statement after ? will be execute.

The following executes the second statement.

Thus, a ternary operator is short form of if else statement. The above example can be re-write using if else condition, as shown below.

Nested Ternary Operator

Nested ternary operators are possible by including a conditional expression as a second statement.

The ternary operator is right-associative. The expression a ? b : c ? d : e is evaluated as a ? b : (c ? d : e) , not as (a ? b : c) ? d : e .

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C# examples, c# short hand if...else, short hand if...else (ternary operator).

There is also a short-hand if else, which is known as the ternary operator because it consists of three operands. It can be used to replace multiple lines of code with a single line. It is often used to replace simple if else statements:

Instead of writing:

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Ternary Operator ? : in C#

Posted by Code Maze | Updated Date Nov 8, 2023 | 0

Ternary Operator ? : in C#

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In this article, we are going to learn about the ternary operator (?:) in C#.

Let’s start.

What is a Ternary Operator?

Ternary Operator is a conditional operator in C#. It helps us to define and execute our statements based on conditions, so basically, it is an alternative form of the if-else statement.

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Syntax of C# Ternary Operator

The ternary operator always work with 3 operands:

condition_expression ? statement_1 : statement_2

condition_expression has two cases, if condition_expression is true  then statement_1 is a return value. However, if condition_expression is false , the operator returns statement_2 . Condition is always a Boolean expression.

This operator can replace the if-else statement in some situations.

Let’s see how:

Here, we see that the ternary operator replaces the multi-line if-else statement with just a single line of code.

Note:  It always returns a value as a result of comparisons.

Nested Ternary Operator

We can use a nested ternary operator by using more than one condition:

From our example, we can see that we can check multiple conditions with a single operator. 

The conditional operator is right-associative. It means that the operator evaluates a ? b : c ? d : e expression as a ? b : (c ? d : e) , not as (a ? b : c) ? d: e .

Conditional ref Expression

From the C# version 7.2, we are able to use the ref keyword to assign the local ref variable conditionally with a conditional ref expression.

Let’s check the example without the ref keyword:

In this case  value1 does not point to array1 . So, when the value of value1 changes to "0" , array1 stays unchanged.

But now, let’s see what happens when we use the ref keyword in the same example:

Here the value2 variable points to the third element (index 2) of array2 . This means when the value of value2 changes to 10000 , it also changes the array’s element on index 2.

In the article, we have learned about the ternary conditional operator. We’ve also seen how it works compared to the if-else statement.

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C# Ternary Operator (?:) with Examples

In c#, Ternary Operator (?:) is a decision-making operator, and it is a substitute for the  if…else statement in c# programming language.

Using Ternary Operator, we can replace multiple lines of if…else statement code into a single line in c# programming language.

The Ternary operator will help you execute the statements based on the defined conditions using the decision-making operator ( ?: ).

  • Syntax of C# Ternary Operator

In c#, the Ternary Operator will always work with 3 operands. Following is the syntax of defining a Ternary Operator in c# programming language.

If you observe the above Ternary Operator syntax, the conditional operator (?:) will return only one value from the defined expressions, either first_expression or second_expression based on the value of a condition.

In c#, the Ternary Operator (?:) will work as follow.

  • In Ternary Operator, the condition expression must be evaluated to be either true or false . If the  condition is true , the first_expression result is returned by the ternary operator. 
  • In case the  condition is false , then the second_expression result is returned by the operator.

As said earlier, the Ternary Operator (?:) is a substitute for the  if…else statement  in c# programming language. For example, we can replace the following  if…else statement  with Ternary Operator (?:) like as shown following.

If you observe the above example, we simplified the  if…else condition  by replacing multiple lines of the  if…else condition  code with Ternary Operator (?:) in c# programming language.

Now, we will see the complete example of a Ternary operator (?:) in c# programming language.

  • C# Ternary Operator Example

Following is the example of using a Ternary Operator (?:) in c# programming language.

If you observe the above code, we used a Ternary Operator (?:) to evaluate an expression ( x > y ) to show the result based on our requirements.

When you execute the above c# program, you will get the result below.

C# Ternary Operator Example Result

This is how we can use Ternary Operator (?:) as a substitute for if…else statement in c# programming language.

C# Nested Ternary Operator

In c#, we can create a Nested Ternary Operator by including multiple conditional expressions as a second or third part of expressions in the ternary operator. These nested ternary operators will help us replace if…else if statements in c# programming language.

Following is the example of replacing  if…else if  statement with a nested ternary operator in c# programming language.

If you observe the above code, we are able to replace multiple lines of  if…else if  code with a single line of the nested ternary operator based on our requirements.

In c#, the conditional operator is a right-associative so the expression a ? b : c ? d : e; evaluated as a ? b : (c ? d : e) , not as (a ? b : c) ? d : e .

  • C# Nested Ternary Operator Example

Following is the example of defining a nested ternary operator in the c# programming language.

When we execute the above c# program, we will get the result below.

C# Nested Ternary Operator Example Result

This is how we can implement a nested ternary operator in c# programming language to replace  if…else if  statements based on our requirements. 

Table of Contents

  • Ternary Operator in C# with Examples
  • Nested Ternary Operator in C#

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Mastering the C# Ternary Operator: A Concise Guide to Conditional Expressions.

  • August 7, 2024

Muhammad Ahmad

  • POSTED ON August 7, 2024
  • POSTED BY Muhammad Ahmad

Developers frequently encounter scenarios where they must make decisions based on conditions and execute different actions accordingly. This is precisely where the C# ternary operator shines, offering a concise and powerful solution to express conditional logic within a single line of code.  We will gain a deep understanding of its syntax, delve into its versatile

Developers frequently encounter scenarios where they must make decisions based on conditions and execute different actions accordingly. This is precisely where the C# ternary operator shines, offering a concise and powerful solution to express conditional logic within a single line of code. 

We will gain a deep understanding of its syntax, delve into its versatile use cases, and uncover best practices to harness its full potential. By the end of this blog, you will possess a mastery of the C# ternary operator, empowering you to craft code that is both succinct and highly readable.

What is a C# Ternary Operator?

The ternary operator in C# is represented by the question mark “?” and the colon “:”. There are operands involved which include an evaluated condition, results of the true conditions, and of the false conditions. The operator evaluates the condition and returns one of the two results based on the condition’s outcome.

Detailed Insight into Conditional Expressions

One of the major functions performed by c# conditional expressions is to guide programmers in making decisions related to codes based on specific conditions. These conditions are evaluated as either true or false, and the ternary operator offers a concise way to express these conditions and perform different actions accordingly. It provides a shortcut for writing if-else statements in scenarios where the conditions are simple.

Syntax and Structure of the Ternary Operator

Mentioned below is an example of the syntax to evaluate the c# conditional expressions. 

If the condition is true, the true expression is executed and returned. The falseExpression is executed and returned only if the condition is false. The trueExpression and falseExpression can be any valid expression in C#.

Different Ways to Work with Simple Ternary Expressions

Basic usage and syntax.

To use the ternary operator, you need to provide a condition that evaluates to either true or false. Based on the condition, the operator selects one of the two expressions to execute. The selected expression is then evaluated and returned as the result of the ternary operation.

Evaluating Boolean Conditions

The condition provided to the ternary operator can be any boolean expression. This operation involves variables, comparison operators, and method calls that return a boolean value. The condition should be carefully crafted to ensure it produces the desired outcome based on the logic you want to implement.

C# Ternary Operator Example

The following c# ternary operator examples discussed below will give a detailed overview of the usage of this technology for performing different coding operations.

In this example, the condition x > y is evaluated. If it is true, the value of x is assigned to the variable max; otherwise, the value of y is assigned.

Here, the condition count > 0 is evaluated. If it is true, the string “Items found” is assigned to the variable message; otherwise, the string “No items found” is assigned.

Best Practices for Readability and Maintainability

While the ternary operator provides a compact way to express conditional logic, it is essential to maintain readability and clarity in your code. Here are some best practices to follow.

  • Use the ternary operator for simple conditions that are easy to understand at a glance. However, consider using the if-else statements for complex conditions. 
  • Never nest multiple c# ternary operators with a single line this can lead to difficult-to-read and comprehended coding. Instead, break down complex conditions into separate statements or use if-else blocks.
  • Parentheses can clarify the order of operations to a greater extent! Therefore, prefer combining them with ternary operators or mixing them with other expressions. This improves code readability and reduces the chances of ambiguity.
  • Comment your code appropriately to explain the purpose and logic behind the ternary expressions. This helps other developers (including yourself in the future) understand the code’s intent.
  • By following these best practices, you can ensure that your code remains clear, maintainable, and easy to understand, even when using the ternary operator extensively.

Handling Null Values with Ternary Operator

Working with null values is a common scenario in programming, and the ternary operator can be effectively used to handle c# null check operations and assign default values when necessary.

Managing Nullable Types with Confidence

In C#, nullable types allow variables to hold null values in addition to their regular values. When dealing with nullable types, the c# ternary operator can be used to check for null and assign appropriate values based on the condition.

Comparing the Null Coalescing Operator and the Ternary Operator

Another option for handling null values is the null coalescing operator (??). While the null coalescing operator and the ternary operator can achieve similar outcomes, they have different use cases. The null coalescing operator is primarily used to assign a default value when encountering a null value, whereas the ternary operator provides more flexibility in handling various conditions.

Simplifying Null Checks and Avoiding Potential Pitfalls

By utilizing the c# null check operator, you can streamline null checks in your code. Instead of writing verbose if-else statements to handle null values, the ternary operator allows you to express the logic more concisely, resulting in cleaner and more readable code.

Chaining Ternary Operators for Robust Null Handling

In situations where you need to perform multiple null checks or assign different values based on complex conditions, you can chain multiple ternary operators together. This technique enables you to handle null values and conditionals in a cascading manner, enhancing code efficiency and reducing redundancy.

Remember to exercise caution when handling null values using the ternary operator. It’s crucial to consider the potential risks and ensure that your code maintains clarity and avoids unexpected behavior.

By leveraging the ternary operator effectively, you can streamline null handling and improve the robustness of your code, ultimately leading to more efficient and maintainable software solutions.

Null Coalescing Operator vs. Ternary Operator

When it comes to handling null values in C#, developers have two powerful tools at their disposal: the null coalescing operator (??) and the ternary operator. While both operators can handle null checks and assign values based on conditions, they have distinct use cases and offer different levels of flexibility.

The Null Coalescing Operator

The null coalescing operator (??) provides a concise way to assign a default value when encountering a null value. Its syntax is as follows:

If the nullable value is not null, the operator assigns its value to the result. However, if the nullableValue is null, the defaultValue is assigned instead. The null coalescing operator is particularly useful when you want to provide fallback values for null references without writing verbose if-else statements.

The Ternary Operator

The ternary operator, represented by the question mark (?) and the colon (:), is a versatile tool for expressing conditional logic. Its syntax is as follows:

The operator evaluates the condition and executes the trueExpression if the condition is true, or the falseExpression if the condition is false. This allows for more complex decision-making within a single line of code.

Simplifying Null Checks

The ternary operator can simplify null checks by condensing them into a single line of code. Instead of writing lengthy if-else statements, you can use the ternary operator to handle null values efficiently. For example:

In this case, if nullableValue is not null, it is assigned to the result; otherwise, the defaultValue is assigned. This reduces code verbosity and improves readability.

Chaining Ternary Operators for Complex Null Handling

In scenarios where you need to handle multiple null checks or assign different values based on complex conditions, you can chain multiple ternary operators together. This allows for cascading conditionals and enables you to handle complex null-handling scenarios concisely. For instance:

Here, if value 1 is not null, it is assigned to the result. Otherwise, if value2 is not null, it is assigned. If both value1 and value2 are null, the default value is assigned. Chaining ternary operators in this way reduces the need for nested if-else statements and keeps the code more streamlined.

Performing Complex Operations with Ternary Operator

The ternary operator can be used to perform complex operations based on conditions. It allows for the execution of different expressions depending on the outcome of a condition. This enables you to handle intricate business logic within a single line of code, improving code conciseness and maintainability.

For example, consider a scenario where you want to assign different values to a variable based on multiple conditions:

In this case, the ternary operator allows you to evaluate multiple conditions and assign the appropriate values to the result variable. This approach simplifies complex operations and reduces the need for lengthy if-else blocks.

By understanding the distinctions between the null coalescing operator and the ternary operator, you can choose the appropriate tool based on your specific use case. The null coalescing operator excels at providing default values for null references, while the ternary operator offers more flexibility for conditional expressions and complex decision-making.

The C# ternary operator offers a concise and elegant way to express conditional logic in your code. Its ability to condense decision-making into a single line can greatly enhance code readability and maintainability. However, it’s crucial to use the ternary operator judiciously and understand its limitations to avoid writing convoluted or error-prone code.

Throughout this guide, we have explored the syntax, various use cases, and best practices for working with the C# ternary operator. By applying this knowledge to your programming endeavors, you’ll be able to write more concise, expressive, and efficient code.

Remember to strike a balance between the simplicity of the ternary operator and the readability of your code. Choosing between the ternary operator and if-else statements should depend on the specific context and complexity of the conditions you are dealing with.

With practice and experience, you’ll become proficient in utilizing the C# ternary operator to its full potential, unlocking its benefits in terms of code conciseness and clarity. Embrace the power of conditional expressions, and elevate your C# programming skills to new heights.

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Var, Ternary Operator And LINQ In C#

ternary operator variable assignment c#

This tutorial explains the Var, LINQ and Ternary Operator in C# with syntax, usage and programming examples:

C# is a strongly typed language i.e. we need to declare a variable before we can use it anywhere in the program. But let’s assume a scenario where we don’t know what variable type we will be needing in the next step of the program.

To handle these types of scenarios, C# allows the user to declare variables without providing any explicit data types to them. This can be achieved by declaring a “var” type variable.

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Var ,ternary operator and LINQ in C#

Table of Contents:

Characteristics Of “var” Keyword

Using var to access data from arraylist, restrictions with using var, summary of the c# var keyword, syntax of the ternary operator, nested ternary operator, summary of the ternary operator, linq syntax, was this helpful, recommended reading.

The var keyword initializes variables with support from var. The data type of a var variable is defined during the execution time while assigning data to the variable. C# automatically casts the data type to the var variable. Once the data type has been assigned to the variable, it cannot be changed.

The “var” keyword can be used to declare a var type variable that can be used to store any data type. Let’s have a look at some of the uses of var type variables for the different data types.

Printing different var variables: 100 True Var Keyword

Explanation

Here we defined 3 different variables – integerData, booleanData and stringData with “var” data type. Then we assigned values of different data types to each of these variables. Now if we print this to the console, then we will get the output of all the assigned values.

Let’s assume that we have an ArrayList that we want to access. If we don’t have any idea about the data type of the array list then using a var variable can be quite useful. It can also be helpful if the array list comprises of multiple data types.

We created an ArrayList with 4 values 1, 2, 3, and 4. As already mentioned, if we don’t know the data types present in the Array list then we can use a “var” in the foreach loop to access any data type it may contain.

So, each variable will be assigned data types at the time of value assignment. This is also useful if the array contains multiple data type values.

Similar to the other data types and keywords var also has its fair share of restrictions. Let’s have a look at some of the constraints for the var keyword.

  • Var obfuscates the actual data type of the variable. If an initializer somehow doesn’t assign a clearly defined data type, then it will be difficult to determine the actual data type of the variable.
  • The keyword ‘var’ is simply that the programmers end up using it everywhere and that makes it difficult to differentiate it from the other variables in the application. For example, if I have a var type variable. I don’t know if it’s a string, integer, or even a dictionary.

Enlisted below are some of the most important facts about var keyword that we all need to keep in mind while using it:

  • Var is quite useful in defining variables locally without having to provide an explicit data type. The data type of a var variable is determined while any value is assigned to it. Once a data type has been assigned, it cannot be changed.
  • All the var variables must be declared and initialized in the same line of code. C# doesn’t allow assigning a null value to the implicit local variables.

C# Ternary Operators

The ternary operator in C sharp is a decision-making operator and it substitutes the if-else statement in C sharp programming language. This operator allows us to replace multiple if-else statements into a simple line of code.

A ternary operator helps the programmers to execute statements based on some predefined conditions by using the decision-making operator syntax “?:”.

In C# programming language, the ternary operator contains 3 different types of operands

Condition_expression ? First_expression: Second_expression;

As seen in the above syntax, the ternary operator is composed of three parts. The first part contains a conditional expression that will return a Boolean value i.e. True or false.

The second part contains the statement that a programmer wants to return if the expression is evaluated as true. The final and the last part contains the statement that will be returned if the expression evaluates as false.

The point to keep in mind is that the ternary operator only returns the value contained in the second and third parts it does not execute the expressions.

Let’s look at the following example to see how a conditional operator works:

The comparison result: b is greater than a

Explanation of code

Here, we have two different integers that we used for comparison. We use a var compare to store the result. Then we use a ternary operator to compare both integers. So, if the expression returns true then the first statement will be returned as a result and if the expression is false then the second statement will be returned.

C# also allows programmers to create a nested ternary operator by combining multiple conditional expressions. The nested ternary operator helps in replacing multiple if-else if statements and thereby simplifies them into a single line of code.

Let’s see an example to standard nested ternary more clearly. For example, we will discuss how we can use a single line of code of the ternary operator instead of using a large if-else-if statement block.

The comparison result: a is equal to b

If we look at the above example we will be able to see that instead of writing multiple if-else statements we have written a single nested ternary operator that gives the same result as multiple statements written above that.

A nested ternary operator is written by replacing the second statement in the ternary operator syntax with another ternary operator. We can do this several times to nest any number of the given condition. This can also be used to replace the if else if condition.

  • We learned about the ternary operator expression.
  • We also learn that a ternary operator always returns a value and it is not executed.

Free- ternary operator can be used to replace if-else or if-else-if statements. We can simply use a ternary operator or we can even use a nested ternary operator.

A language integrated query or LINQ was introduced in .net Framework 3.5. It helps in querying data from different data collectors such as database collections etc. Based on the user requirements.

It’s integrated with both C Sharp and VB, thereby helping in removing the conflict between the different programming languages and databases at the same time, thereby providing a single language query for different data sources.

For example, we can use a LINQ to retrieve unsaved data from the database similar to SQL Query. We can help programmers to access and save data from different data sources like SQL Server, XML documents, collections, etc.

Before we start performing operations using LINQ, we need to import the system.Linq namespace in our application.

We can perform LINQ operations in two ways:

  • LINQ query syntax
  • LINQ method syntax

LINQ Query Syntax

Using LINQ we can perform different querying operations using the query syntax. It is quite different from SQL and it requires us to follow the syntax hierarchy as shown below.

The hierarchy for the sentence is given in the following order.

From, in, let, where, order by, select, group by, into

These are the order hierarchy that needs to be maintained while writing the LINQ query syntax. Let’s have a look at the common syntax for LINQ query syntax.

Let’s have a look at an example, to understand the usage of query syntax more clearly.

In this example, we defined an integer type array with some test data. Then we used a var type variable to store the result of the LINQ query. Later we used a foreach loop to print all the content of the result.

The above example shows us how to use the LINQ query syntax in our program.

LINQ Method Syntax

The method syntax uses the extension method of the Enumerable class. Method Syntax is quite different from query syntax.

Given below is an example to see how Method Syntax works.

Here, have an integer type array with some integer data. Then we ran the method query on the integer array. We used a foreach loop to retrieve the data from the result of the query. This gives us the result based on the condition we provided in the method syntax.

We learned that LINQ is an integrated query language that was introduced into the .Net framework.

It offers a solution to query different data sources such as XML documents collections SQL databases etc. It can be used with both C Sharp and VB.net.

  • Ternary Operator In Java - Tutorial With Examples
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ternary operator variable assignment c#

Using C# Ternary (?) Operator Statement as a Method Parameter

ternary operator variable assignment c#

Introduction

The ' ? ' operator is one of the oldest conditional operators that has been coming along with object oriented languages such as C++, Java and C#. The most significant advantage of using it is, it will reduce a couple of lines of code than using the traditional if - else or switch statements, where there is a need to return values.

I first came across the functionality and power of using this, just a couple of years ago, while assigned with a task to re-factor some existing code of a senior. More often, I have seen the use of this being used with assigning the results to variables. And subsequently, my coding behaviour also followed suit.

Recently, I was wondering if the usage could only be limited to assigning variables, and tried adding the statement directly to a method passing it as a variable. It just works fine, since as long as the returning type matches the variable type of the method parameter, such an assignment succeeds. Though this is maybe already a straight forward understanding for C# or Java experts, yet this explanation could serve for those in doubt, and to understand the beauty of the language. Ok, without any further exaggeration, let's have a look at what I am talking about.

Let’s assume you have a method to display a name by passing in a name parameter like the following:

Now simply let's assume two names, ' Ahmed ' and ' Jack ', and we are to display the name which has less than 5 characters and pass that name to the above method to be further processed. Using the ternary operator, the approach would be:

Eliminating the intermediate variable assignment, this could be achieved also as the following:

Note : This approach would work only for methods that pass arguments by value and not for those that pass arguments by reference (i.e., the arguments with ref and out keywords will not work).

Personally, I would not recommend the over usage of this approach on method parameters as it could negate the very purpose of simplicity of reading (i.e., you might end up with a longer line in the method parameters mixed up with '?'s, ':'s and ","s thereby making it complex to read).

I find the following scenarios where you can advocate this approach:

  • Methods that have parameters which have a need to pass arguments which require results from a condition.
  • Using this approach on no more than two or three arguments of a method to reduce reading complexity.
  • Using this approach on methods that could be called on parts of other lengthy conditional statements such as switch or if - else . This way, we could save a lot of unnecessary variable assignments prior to method calls.

That's it. I would like to hear opinions of others on this. Happy coding ahead...!

Source originally from my blog: http://maturedknowledge.blogspot.com/2014/08/using-c-ternary-operator-statement-as.html .

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under A Public Domain dedication

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27-Aug-14 12:53 27-Aug-14 12:53 
The ternary operator has been around since the 'C' language, predating C++ by years. You aren't passing in the , you are passing in the of an already evaluated , which is precisely why it cannot be a parameter.
In that respect it is no different than passing in the expression to a method that is expecting a formal parameter.
Also, your example variable name should have been called since that is what it is testing.

I what you thought you were describing was more similar to passing in a C macro or other kind of textual substitution. Or maybe not.
Keep trying!
·  
27-Aug-14 18:30 27-Aug-14 18:30 
//Also, your example variable name nameLessThanFour should have been called nameLessThanFive since that is what it is testing.//

Thanks for pointing out, i've corrected it.

On the other hand I really appreciate your views, as I might have missed out highlighting C as it was not from the object oriented world. Nevertheless, I also do accept that the title is misleading, though it should give an insight to people trying to describe or search such a scenario. All of the reviews so far have pointed out my mistake in an appreciating way.
·  
27-Aug-14 1:32 27-Aug-14 1:32 
I think the article is well written and methodically thought through, but the actually concept is far to basic to be a tip/trick in my opinion, so in deciding how to rate, I went for a sort of average of 1 star for concept and 3 for approach, giving an average of 2.

As others have said, you are never passing the expression, you are passing the result of the evaluation of that expression. In this sense, your technique offers nothing beyond lesson 1 of any 'beginning C#' tutorial, teaching that expressions yield values, and values can be passed as method parameters.

You've said this is not aimed at experts, but with all due respect, I would expect one of my juniors to be able to show that they know basic concepts such as this before I even consider recommending to my boss that we hire them as trainees/juniors. Someone leaving a degree course should know this and more, as should someone who has taken it upon themselves to learn the basics in their own free time.

But, as a well written article, it is good, even though the concept is very basic.

·  
27-Aug-14 1:41 27-Aug-14 1:41 
Thanks mate. I hope your views should drive me better in the future.

·  
27-Aug-14 1:24 27-Aug-14 1:24 
Too basic to be a tip/trick, but good effort.
·  
26-Aug-14 2:28 26-Aug-14 2:28 
Hi Mafaz, I certainly don't want to be too disparaging about anyone's first article but the points raised about terminology should be noted - the title is very misleading. As a historical aside, the ?: operator predates OO, it was part of the C language
·  
26-Aug-14 6:03 26-Aug-14 6:03 
Thank you for the advise and info. I'll consider them in future. As someone pointed out, criticism laid here should polish me further.
·  
26-Aug-14 0:39 26-Aug-14 0:39 
The ternary operator is being used as an expression rather than a statement (see Wikipedia for the distinction between the two concepts). In this case, you are using an expression as a function argument, but you are not passing the expression to the function. Only the value resulting from evaluating the expression is passed to the function.

Your tip is true for any expression.
·  
26-Aug-14 6:06 26-Aug-14 6:06 
Yep, you might be correct, eventually the ';' at the end makes the difference between a statement and expression. Thank you anyway for the analysis.
·  
25-Aug-14 21:57 25-Aug-14 21:57 
A simple string is being passed into the method, nothing more is going on here. All the work as been done already prior to the method call and no logic is actually being passed into the method as your title suggests.

When I read your initial title, I thought it was going to be about rules engines because those do contain logic.

In every one of your examples the if statement has been already fully processed before the method call. So essentially you are not passing the Ternary Operator as a parameter at all.
·  
25-Aug-14 23:09 25-Aug-14 23:09 
You are exactly correct. I'm not passing the Ternary 'Operator' as a method parameter, but the complete statement itself (Please check the title again). My intention was just to show that:

1) Passing the statement directly to any method parameter is possible if anybody had doubts with it. (Since mostly we see such usage on Console.WriteLine(...) examples, or assigning the return value to a variable.)
2) Some suggestions on what type of occasions such an approach could be useful.

To be clearer we are passing the 'Ternary Operator Statement' and not the 'Ternary Operator' here.

·  
26-Aug-14 15:28 26-Aug-14 15:28 
>To be clearer we are passing the 'Ternary Operator Statement' and not the 'Ternary Operator' here.

Thanks for your reply, but that is not the case. The compiler is evaluating your IF STATEMENT (Ternary Operator in this case) **before** the method gets called. Therefore the Ternary Operator isn't being passed as a parameter at all.

Even in this case:
? name1: name2);The if statement is evaluated fully and then the method call is made. Again, the Ternary Operator isn't passed in.

Later...
·  
26-Aug-14 18:04 26-Aug-14 18:04 
Hi,
I understand your point. What could be the suitable title for this approach then? ??
·  
1-Sep-14 22:56 1-Sep-14 22:56 
>What could be the suitable title for this approach then?

Perhaps a better title would be "Using the Ternary Operator Inside Method Callers."

What you are passing into DisplayName(string name) is still just a result string. You cannot "pass" the ternary operator or anything else into a method expecting a string without getting a compiler error because it wouldn't be a valid method signature. Your example is "passing" a result string and not the ternary operator because the statement is being fully evaluated **before** the method is called.

It is an interesting location to type and use the ternary operator though....
·  
25-Aug-14 19:20 25-Aug-14 19:20 
Helpful...
·  
25-Aug-14 17:47 25-Aug-14 17:47 
This doesn't qualify to something new my friend, this is old news, a tip needs to be something helpful and new, this one is not.
·  
25-Aug-14 18:18 25-Aug-14 18:18 
Thank you. I've already stated that this piece of information is already a norm for experts and not targeted at them.

·  
25-Aug-14 18:52 25-Aug-14 18:52 
Keep it up dude, try on a better subject or more innovative new idea or tip that might help others,

·  
25-Aug-14 16:46 25-Aug-14 16:46 
Doesn't seem to add anything above MSDN. [ ]

Don't forget the colon ( ); it's part of the operator, hence the name.

If it's from your blog you could put it on your blog here. It doesn't seem like enough even for a Tip.
·  
25-Aug-14 18:26 25-Aug-14 18:26 
Thank you for your concerns. This was my first attempt on CodeProject and felt like sharing my recent experiences. Also my intention was not to target the experts but for novices who would like to see where this operator could be handy.

To be on the safer side, I got this piece of information reviewed and published by CodeProject editorial itself and let them the option to publish or not given the value of the content. I'm glad they have decided to give me the chance and have published it.

Anyways I'll try better next time
·  
26-Aug-14 5:01 26-Aug-14 5:01 
{0} record{1} affected." , result , result==1?"":"s" ) ;

You could also have this Tip include the Null Coalescing Operator ( ) as another way to avoid a temporary local. [ ]

Please do include links to MSDN or other sources so the reader can do further study.
·  
26-Aug-14 6:11 26-Aug-14 6:11 
Hi,

That was valuable information. Thank you, and will consider your suggestions in future.
·  
Last Visit: 31-Dec-99 18:00     Last Update: 10-Sep-24 18:16

Use Ctrl+Left/Right to switch messages, Ctrl+Up/Down to switch threads, Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to switch pages.

ternary operator variable assignment c#

ternary operator variable assignment c#

Ternary Operator

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to answer the following:

What is the ternary operator?

Where can I use the ternary operator?

How do I use the ternary operator in an expression?

In Lesson 7 , we learned about the if-else statement that lets us represent a branching path in our programs. In this lesson, we will learn another way to depict a conditional expression.

The ternary operator ?: is useful to make quick if-else conditions that evaluates to a result.

Line 2 is using a ternary operator expression, in conjunction with a variable declaration. We have declared a variable named evolvedForm . Can you guess what type this variable will be?

evolvedForm is a string variable. The inferred value comes from the result of the ternary operator expression. Let's break it down:

First is isFemale , followed by a ? . The part that comes before the ? is the condition. isFemale is a boolean variable declared in Line 1, with the value of true .

Next is a string value, Nidorina , followed by a : . The part that comes before the : is the result of the whole expression when the condition is true .

Finally we have the string value Nidorino after the : . The part that comes after the : is the else clause or alternate path - the result of the expression when the condition is false .

In short, the syntax of the ternary operator expression is:

Run the code and add a Console.WriteLine(evolvedForm); statement to display the result. Can you guess what the value of evolvedForm will be? How about if isFemale is set to false ?

Here's what our code will look like as a regular if-else statement.

As we can see, using the ternary operator makes for more concise code!

Just like a regular if-else statement, the condition part of the ternary operator (the part before the ? ) can have more complex conditional expressions, like age > 20 .

We can even chain ternary expressions. Use this sparingly, however - it can affect the readability of our code. Below, the result of the first ternary expression has been indented so it's easier to read the code.

Using the first example in this lesson as a guide, change the if-else statement in the piece of code below to use a ternary expression.

Last updated 2 years ago

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C# Language Operators ? : Ternary Operator

Fastest entity framework extensions.

Returns one of two values depending on the value of a Boolean expression.

The ternary operator is right-associative which allows for compound ternary expressions to be used. This is done by adding additional ternary equations in either the true or false position of a parent ternary equation. Care should be taken to ensure readability, but this can be useful shorthand in some circumstances.

In this example, a compound ternary operation evaluates a clamp function and returns the current value if it's within the range, the min value if it's below the range, or the max value if it's above the range.

Ternary operators can also be nested, such as:

When writing compound ternary statements, it's common to use parenthesis or indentation to improve readability.

The types of expression_if_true and expression_if_false must be identical or there must be an implicit conversion from one to the other.

The type and conversion requirements apply to your own classes too.

Got any C# Language Question?

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Use conditional expression for assignment (IDE0045)

  • 2 contributors
Property Value
IDE0045
Use conditional expression for assignment
Style
Language rules (expression-level preferences)
C# and Visual Basic
Visual Studio 2017

This style rule concerns the use of a ternary conditional expression versus an if-else statement for assignments that require conditional logic.

Options specify the behavior that you want the rule to enforce. For information about configuring options, see Option format .

dotnet_style_prefer_conditional_expression_over_assignment

Property Value Description
dotnet_style_prefer_conditional_expression_over_assignment
Prefer assignments with a ternary conditional
Prefer assignments with an if-else statement

Suppress a warning

If you want to suppress only a single violation, add preprocessor directives to your source file to disable and then re-enable the rule.

To disable the rule for a file, folder, or project, set its severity to none in the configuration file .

To disable all of the code-style rules, set the severity for the category Style to none in the configuration file .

For more information, see How to suppress code analysis warnings .

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Learn about C# Operators and Their Uses

ternary operator variable assignment c#

  • Dinesh Gabhane
  • Feb 26, 2024
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This article on C# operators from unary and binary operators to overloadable operators, relational operators, implicit and explicit cast operators, short-circuiting operators, the ternary operator, null-conditional operators, "exclusive or" operators, default operators, assignment operators, and sizeof operator.

  • C# Operators

In C#, an operator is a program element that is applied to one or more operands in an expression or statement. Operators that take one operand, such as the increment operator (++) or new, are referred to as unary operators. Operators that take two operands, such as arithmetic operators (+,-,*,/), are referred to as binary operators. One operator, the conditional operator (?:), takes three operands and is the sole ternary operator in C#.

Use of C# Operators

Below are the operators and their uses

1. Overloadable Operators

C# allows user-defined types to overload operators by defining static member functions using the operator keyword.

The following example illustrates an implementation of the + operator. If we have a Complex class that represents a complex number.

And we want to add the option to use the + operator for this class. i.e.

We will need to overload the + operator for the class. This is done using a static function and the operator keyword.

Operators such as +, -, *, / can all be overloaded. This also includes Operators that don't return the same type (for example, == and != can be overloaded, despite returning booleans) The rule below relating to pairs is also enforced here.

Comparison operators have to be overloaded in pairs (e.g. if < is overloaded, > also needs to be overloaded).

A full list of overloadable operators (as well as non-overloadable operators and the restrictions placed on some overloadable operators) can be seen at MSDN - Overloadable Operators (C# Programming Guide ).

Overloading of the operator was introduced with the pattern-matching mechanism of C# 7.0. For details see Pattern Matching. Given a type Cartesian defined as follows.

An overloadable operator could e.g. be defined for Polar coordinates.

Which can be used like this.

2. Overloading equality operators

Overloading just equality operators is not enough. Under different circumstances, all of the following can be called:

  • object.Equals and object.GetHashCode
  • IEquatable<T>.Equals (optional, allows avoiding boxing)
  • operator == and operator != (optional, allows using operators)

When overriding Equals, GetHashCode must also be overridden. When implementing Equals, there are many special cases: comparing to objects of a different type, comparing to self, etc.

When NOT overridden Equals method and == operator behave differently for classes and structs. For classes just references are compared, and for structs values of properties are compared via reflection which can negatively affect performance. == can not be used for comparing structs unless it is overridden.

Generally, equality operations must obey the following rules.

  • Must not throw exceptions.
  • Reflexivity: A always equals A (may not be true for NULL values in some systems).
  • Transitivity: if A equals B, and B equals C, then A equals C.
  • If A equals B, then A and B have equal hash codes.
  • Inheritance tree independence: if B and C are instances of Class2 inherited from Class1:Class1.Equals(A, B) must always return the same value as the call to Class2.Equals(A, B).

3. Relational Operators - Equals

Check whether the supplied operands (arguments) are equal.

Unlike Java, the equality comparison operator works natively with strings.

The equality comparison operator will work with operands of differing types if an implicit cast exists from one to the other. If no suitable implicit cast exists, you may call an explicit cast or use a method to convert to a compatible type.

Unlike Visual Basic.NET, the equality comparison operator is not the same as the equality assignment operator.

Not to be confused with the assignment operator (=).

For value types, the operator returns true if both operands are equal in value.

For reference types, the operator returns true if both operands are equal in reference (not value). An exception is that string objects will be compared with value equality.

Check whether the supplied operands are not equal.

This operator effectively returns the opposite result to that of the equals (==) operator

Greater Than

Check whether the first operand is greater than the second operand.

Check whether the first operand is less than the second operand.

Greater Than Equal To

Check whether the first operand is greater than equal to the second operand.

Less Than Equal To

Check whether the first operand is less than equal to the second operand.

4. Implicit Cast and Explicit Cast Operators

C# allows user-defined types to control assignment and casting through the use of explicit and implicit keywords. The signature of the method takes the form.

The method cannot take any more arguments, nor can it be an instance method. It can, however, access any private members of the type it is defined within.

An example of both an implicit and explicit cast.

Allowing the following cast syntax.

The cast operators can work both ways, going from your type and going to your type.

Finally, the as keyword, which can be involved in casting within a type hierarchy, is not valid in this situation. Even after defining either an explicit or implicit cast, you cannot do.

It will generate a compilation error.

5. Short-circuiting Operators

By definition, the short-circuiting boolean operators will only evaluate the second operand if the first operand can not determine the overall result of the expression.

It means that if you are using the && operator as firstCondition && secondCondition it will evaluate secondCondition only when firstCondition is true and of course, the overall result will be true only if both of firstOperand and secondOperand are evaluated to true. This is useful in many scenarios, for example, imagine that you want to check that your list has more than three elements but you also have to check if the list has been initialized to not run into NullReferenceException. You can achieve this as below:

mList.Count > 3 will not be checked until myList != null is met.

Logical AND

&& is the short-circuiting counterpart of the standard boolean AND (&) operator.

|| is the short-circuiting counterpart of the standard boolean OR (|) operator.

Example usage

6. Ternary Operator

Returns one of two values depending on the value of a Boolean expression.

The ternary operator is right-associative which allows for compound ternary expressions to be used. This is done by adding additional ternary equations in either the true or false position of a parent ternary equation. Care should be taken to ensure readability, but this can be useful shorthand in some circumstances.

In this example, a compound ternary operation evaluates a clamp function and returns the current value if it's within the range, the min value if it's below the range, or the max value if it's above the range.

Ternary operators can also be nested, such as.

When writing compound ternary statements, it's common to use parenthesis or indentation to improve readability.

The types of expression_if_true and expression_if_false must be identical or there must be an implicit conversion from one to the other.

The type and conversion requirements apply to your own classes too.

7. ?. (Null Conditional Operator)

Introduced in C# 6.0, the Null Conditional Operator ?. will immediately return null if the expression on its lefthand side evaluates to null, instead of throwing a NullReferenceException. If its left-hand side evaluates to a nonnull value, it is treated just like a normal. operator. Note that because it might return null, its return type is always a nullable type. That means that a struct or primitive type, is wrapped into a Nullable<T>.

This comes in handy when firing events. Normally you would have to wrap the event call in an if statement checking for null and raise the event afterwards, which introduces the possibility of a race condition. Using the Null conditional operator this can be fixed in the following way:

8. "Exclusive or" Operator

The operator for an "exclusive or" (for short XOR) is: ^

This operator returns true when one, but only one, of the supplied bools is true.

9. default Operator

Value Type (where T: struct)

The built-in primitive data types, such as char, int, and float, as well as user-defined types declared with struct, or enum. Their default value is new T().

Reference Type (where T: class)

Any class, interface, array, or delegate type. Their default value is null :

10. Assignment operator '='

The assignment operator = sets the left-hand operand's value to the value of the right-hand operand, and returns that value.

11. sizeof

Returns an int holding the size of a type* in bytes.

In an unsafe context, sizeof can be used to return the size of other primitive types and structs.

12. ?? Null-Coalescing Operator

The Null-Coalescing operator ?? will return the left-hand side when not null. If it is null, it will return the right-hand side.

The ?? operator can be chained which allows the removal of if checks.

13. Bit-Shifting Operators

The shift operators allow programmers to adjust an integer by shifting all of its bits to the left or the right. The following diagram shows the effect of shifting a value to the left by one digit.

Right-Shift

14. Lambda operator

The => operator has the same precedence as the assignment operator = and is right-associative.

It is used to declare lambda expressions and also it is widely used with LINQ Queries.

When used in LINQ extensions or queries the type of the objects can usually be skipped as it is inferred by the compiler.

The general form of lambda operator is the following.

The parameters of the lambda expression are specified before => operator, and the actual expression/statement/block to be executed is to the right of the operator.

This operator can be used to easily define delegates, without writing an explicit method.

15. Class Member Operators

Null Conditional Member Access

16. Class Member Operators

Null Conditional Indexing

17. Postfix and Prefix increment and decrement

Postfix increment X++ will add 1 to x.

Postfix decrement X-- will subtract one.

++x is called prefix increment it increments the value of x and then returns x while x++ returns the value of x and then increments.

18. typeof

Gets System.Type object for a type.

To get the run-time type, use the GetType method to obtain the System.Type of the current instance.

Operator typeof takes a type name as a parameter, which is specified at compile time.

19. Binary operators with assignment

C# has several operators that can be combined with an = sign to evaluate the result of the operator and then assign the result to the original variable.

20. nameof Operator

Returns a string that represents the unqualified name of a variable, type, or member.

The nameof operator was introduced in C# 6.0. It is evaluated at compile-time and the returned string value is inserted inline by the compiler, so it can be used in most cases where the constant string can be used (e.g., the case labels in a switch statement, attributes, etc...). It can be useful in cases like raising & logging exceptions, attributes, MVC Action links, etc...

21. Class Member Operators: Member Access

22. class member operators: function invocation, 23. class member operators: aggregate object indexing.

C# Corner Ebook

Programming Strings using C#

ternary operator variable assignment c#

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Using ternary operator: "only assignment, call, increment..."

I have action dictionary defined as:

I put there actions like:

I'm using this code to run it:

It works just fine, but I wanted to use '?' notation to make it shorter:

This code shows me error:

Error 1 Only assignment, call, increment, decrement, and new object expressions can be used as a statement

actions[pair.Key](pair.Value, pair.Key) isn't it a call? Am I missing something? Is it possible to use '?' notation with action dictionaries? I was trying to find something about that but it's hard to find anything about '?' operator and this error because '?' is ignored by google.

Kamil Budziewski's user avatar

  • 6 Your not assigning to anything, also is it really any shorter? –  Sayse Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 6:37
  • 1 @Sayse yes I'm not, but there is that I need to do "assignment, call, increment, decrement ..." and I'm doing call. I prefer this notation, but main point is my curiousity. I really do want to know, what is wrong with my call :) –  Kamil Budziewski Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 6:38
  • 1 Statement (? : ) is not a call - it is a ternary operator and cannot be used alone - it is the same as to put something like true && false; at new line. –  Andrii Kalytiiuk Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 7:05

5 Answers 5

Try this instead:

This will fix your issue.

Kundan Singh Chouhan's user avatar

  • 11 I think this code should not replace the original one. Just because it's one line of code it isn't better. –  oddparity Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 7:04
  • 4 and why it isn't better my friend? –  Kundan Singh Chouhan Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 7:07
  • 6 it's better not to use ternar operator because you do not get any speed increase but the readability of the code is worse(standard coding practices) just in case someone takes over your code he will have it easier to read if else then ternar operators –  Goran Štuc Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 8:55
  • 2 Avoiding ternary operators makes as much sense as avoiding unary operators - avoiding any operators because of their arity doesn't make much sense to me –  Damien_The_Unbeliever Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 14:49
  • 2 @GoranŠtuc But it doesn't kill readability here (in my opinion). For me the if/else snippet is verbose while the ternary one is concise . This is a subjective matter, of course. –  Thomas Commented Aug 22, 2013 at 12:27

The ?: Conditional operator is defined as:

The conditional operator (?:) returns one of two values depending on the value of a Boolean expression

Your actions don't return a value, so what is the return value of ?: meant to be?

Damien_The_Unbeliever's user avatar

If you realy have to do it that way, you could try

Just to clarify, from : Operator (C# Reference)

The condition must evaluate to true or false. If condition is true, first_expression is evaluated and becomes the result. If condition is false, second_expression is evaluated and becomes the result. Only one of the two expressions is evaluated.

this is equivelant

Adriaan Stander's user avatar

There's nothing wrong with your call, per se. The expression actions[pair.Key](pair.Value, pair.Key) is indeed a call. That's not the expression the compiler's complaining about, though. The compiler is referring to the entire conditional-operator expression, which is neither an assignment, call, increment, decrement, nor new object expression, and is therefore not allowed to be a statement by itself.

Alternatives include the following:

  • Assigning the result of the expression to another variable, making the conditional merely a sub-expression of the larger assignment statement
  • Factoring the conditional into the index expression, so the overall statement is a single call rather than two separate calls.

Using two independent statements to decide which key to use and then call the function:

It still avoids duplicating code, but keeps things more easily readable by not trying to pack everything into one complex statement.

Rob Kennedy's user avatar

every "? :" statement need to assign to something, meaning that

isn't legal because it's not assigning anything.

you can do:

and that would be legal if actions[pair.Key](pair.Value, pair.Key) and actions[""](pair.Value, pair.Key); return a value

No Idea For Name's user avatar

  • more precise: every ternary expression has to return something –  oddparity Commented Aug 20, 2013 at 7:02

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Ternary Operator in Programming

The Ternary Operator is similar to the if-else statement as it follows the same algorithm as of if-else statement but the ternary operator takes less space and helps to write the if-else statements in the shortest way possible. It is known as the ternary operator because it operates on three operands.

Table of Content

What is a Ternary Operator?

  • Syntax of Ternary Operator
  • Working of Ternary Operator
  • Flowchart of Conditional/Ternary Operator
  • Ternary Operator in C
  • Ternary Operator in C++
  • Ternary Operator in Java
  • Ternary Operator in Python
  • Ternary Operator in C#
  • Ternary Operator in JavaScript
  • Applications of Ternary Operator
  • Best Practices of Ternary Operator

The ternary operator is a conditional operator that takes three operands: a condition, a value to be returned if the condition is true , and a value to be returned if the condition is false . It evaluates the condition and returns one of the two specified values based on whether the condition is true or false.

Syntax of Ternary Operator:

The Ternary operator can be in the form

It can be visualized into an if-else statement as: 

Working of Ternary Operator :

The working of the Ternary operator is as follows:

  • Step 1: Expression1  is the condition to be evaluated.
  • Step 2A:  If the condition( Expression1 ) is True then  Expression2  will be executed.
  • Step 2B : If the condition( Expression1 ) is false then  Expression3  will be executed.
  • Step 3:  Results will be returned

Flowchart of Conditional/Ternary Operator:

uo

Flowchart of ternary operator

Ternary Operator in C:

Here are the implementation of Ternary Operator in C language:

Ternary Operator in C++:

Here are the implementation of Ternary Operator in C++ language:

Ternary Operator in Java:

Here are the implementation of Ternary Operator in java language:

Ternary Operator in Python:

Here are the implementation of Ternary Operator in python language:

Ternary Operator in C#:

Here are the implementation of Ternary Operator in C# language:

Ternary Operator in Javascript:

Here are the implementation of Ternary Operator in javascript language:

Applications of Ternary Operator:

  • Assigning values based on conditions.
  • Returning values from functions based on conditions.
  • Printing different messages based on conditions.
  • Handling null or default values conditionally.
  • Setting properties or attributes conditionally in UI frameworks.

Best Practices of Ternary Operator:

  • Use ternary operators for simple conditional expressions to improve code readability.
  • Avoid nesting ternary operators excessively, as it can reduce code clarity.
  • Use parentheses to clarify complex conditions and expressions involving ternary operators.

Conclusion:

The conditional operator or ternary operator is generally used when we need a short conditional code such as assigning value to a variable based on the condition. It can be used in bigger conditions but it will make the program very complex and unreadable.

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