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PHP Ternary Operator

Summary : in this tutorial, you will learn to use the PHP ternary operator to make the code shorter and more readable.

Introduction to the PHP ternary operator

The ternary operator is a shorthand for the if...else statement. Instead of writing this:

you can use this:

How it works.

  • First. PHP evaluates the condition . If it’s true, the right-hand expression returns the value1 ; otherwise, it returns the value2 .
  • Second, PHP assigns the result of the right-hand expression to the $result variable.

As you can see, by using the ternary operator, you can make the code more concise.

Note that the name ternary operator comes from the fact that this operator requires three operands: expression , value1 , value2 .

PHP ternary operator example

Suppose you want to display the login link if the user has not logged in and the logout link if the user has already logged in. To do that, you can use the if...else statement as follows:

In this example, the $title will be 'Login' because the $is_user_logged_in is set to false . The code is quite lengthy. And you can make it shorter by using the ternary operator as follows:

It’s much shorter now. If the line is long, you can always break it down like this:

The shorthand ternary operator

Starting from PHP 5.3, you can use the shorthand ternary operator as follows:

In this syntax, PHP evaluates $initial in the boolean context. If $initial is true, PHP assigns the value of the $initial to the $result variable. Otherwise, it assigns the $default to the $result variable.

The following example uses the shorthand ternary operator to assign the value of the $path to the $url if the $path is not empty. If the $path is empty, the ternary operator assigns the literal string ‘/’ to the $url :

Chaining ternary operators

Technically, you can chain ternary operators by using parentheses.

Suppose you want to show various messages if users are eligible and have enough credit. The following example chains two ternary operators:

Most of the time, chaining multiple ternary operators makes the code more difficult to read. In this case, it’s better to use if...else or if...elseif statement.

  • The ternary operator ( ?: ) is a shorthand for the if...else statement.
  • Do use the ternary operator when it makes your code more concise and more readable.
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How to Use the PHP Ternary Operator

The PHP ternary operator stands as a more compact alternative to the if…else statement, promoting code simplicity and readability. It turns lengthy conditional structures into a manageable, single line of code, contributing to cleaner and more efficient programming.

You may also like: Moving from the PHP Ternary Operator, let’s take a look at the array_filter function in PHP , a practical tool for filtering array elements.

PHP Ternary Operator

The PHP ternary operator offers a succinct alternative to the traditional if…else statement. Here’s a standard if…else construct in PHP:

  • Initially, PHP examines the given condition. Depending on its truthfulness, it either yields value1 (if the condition is true) or value2 (if it’s false);
  • Next, PHP allocates the outcome derived from this evaluation to the variable $result;
  • This demonstrates how the ternary operator simplifies coding by condensing it.

It’s noteworthy that this operator is called ‘ternary’ because it operates with three elements: the condition, value1, and value2.

Illustrating PHP’s Ternary Operator with Examples

Close-up of a person's hands typing code on a laptop

Imagine a scenario where you need to display different links based on the user’s login status. In PHP, a common approach is to use an if…else statement. Here’s an example:

In this case, since $is_user_logged_in is false, $title will be set to ‘Login’. While effective, this method can be verbose. A more succinct alternative is using the ternary operator, as shown below:

This compact form achieves the same result with less code. Furthermore, for longer expressions, the ternary statement can be formatted for clarity:

This method not only makes the code more readable but also maintains its functionality efficiently.

Utilizing the Compact Ternary Operator in PHP

With the release of PHP 5.3, developers have the option to implement the compact ternary operator in this manner:

This operator allows for a concise evaluation in PHP. It checks the $initial variable in a boolean context. If $initial evaluates to true, PHP will assign its value to the $result variable. If not, $default is assigned to $result instead.

An example of using this operator is demonstrated below, where the value of $path is assigned to $url if $path is not null or empty. Should $path be empty, the operator assigns a default string ‘/’ to $url:

This example effectively illustrates the utility of the compact ternary operator in PHP for streamlined code and efficient value assignment.

Implementing Nested Ternary Operators in PHP

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In PHP, it’s possible to nest ternary operators within each other by using parentheses for more complex conditional logic.

Consider a scenario where you need to display different messages based on user eligibility and credit status. Here’s an example where two ternary operators are nested:

While nesting ternary operators is technically feasible, it often leads to code that is harder to read and understand. In such situations, opting for if…else or if…elseif constructs is generally more advisable for clarity and maintainability.

Conclusion 

The ternary operator (?:) serves as a concise alternative to the if…else statement. It is recommended to use this operator when it simplifies and enhances the readability of your code.

Mastering Ternary Operator in PHP

Introduction.

The ternary operator in PHP provides a shorthand way of writing conditional statements, allowing for clearer and more concise code. In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to use the ternary operator through a series of examples from simple to complex scenarios.

Basic Usage of Ternary Operator

The ternary operator is a conditional operator that takes three operands. The basic syntax is (condition) ? (expression_if_true) : (expression_if_false) . Here’s a simple example:

This will output You are an adult. since the condition $age >= 18 is true.

Nested Ternary Operators

Nested ternary operators allow for multiple conditions to be checked in a single statement. Care should be taken to ensure readability:

The above code outputs You are an adult. , since the first condition is true, and the nested condition is false.

Using with Functions

The ternary operator can be used to execute different functions based on a condition. For example:

This will output Odd number since the number 5 is odd.

Ternary Operator as a Null Coalescing Operation

PHP 7 introduced the null coalescing operator ?? , but a similar effect can be achieved with the ternary operator by using isset() :

This will output Welcome guest if the username is not provided in the query string, otherwise it outputs the username.

Ternary Operator for Shortening Lengthy If-Else Chains

You can replace lengthy if-else chains with the ternary operator. However, maintaining readability should always be a priority:

With a score of 85, this code will output You got a B .

Advanced Conditional Assignment

In more advanced use-cases, the ternary operator can handle compound conditions and execute corresponding complex expressions:

If login attempts exceed 5, the account is locked. Otherwise, it shows how many attempts are remaining.

Best Practices with Ternary Operator

It’s essential to avoid overusing ternary operators as they can significantly decrease readability. Picking the right scenario to use a ternary operator can greatly improve the clarity and efficiency of your code.

The ternary operator in PHP is a powerful tool for writing concise and readable conditional statements. Throughout this tutorial, we’ve explored its use across various scenarios, illustrating how to effectively use it to streamline your PHP code. Remember that readability should always come first, so use ternary operators wisely.

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PHP Ternary Operator

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When coding, we always look for shortcuts everywhere or try to make things concise and effective. In PHP and other programming languages, the ternary operator is a concise way to write conditional statements that improve code readability and effectiveness.

You might have read about the "if-else" conditional statement of PHP. The PHP ternary operator is another way to implement this concept with a different technique. Here, three different operations will work in conjunction to make a single operator. In this tutorial, you will learn about the conditional operator.

What Is the Ternary Operator in PHP?

Ternary operators can be defined as a conditional operator that is reasonable for cutting the lines of codes in your program while accomplishing comparisons as well as conditionals. This is treated as an alternative method of implementing if-else or even nested if-else statements . This conditional statement takes its execution from left to right. Using this ternary operator is not only an efficient solution but the best case with a time-saving approach. It returns a warning while encountering any void value in its conditions.

The syntax of using the conditional operator in PHP is:

  • Condition statement : This is a valid PHP expression that will be evaluated in order to return a Boolean value.
  • Statement_1 : This will be the statement that will be executed when the conditional results will return true or be in a true state.
  • Statement_2 : This will be the statement that will be executed when the conditional results will return true or be in a false state.

When to Use Ternary Operator

You can use the ternary operator when there is a need to simplify if-else statements or if the programmer wants to make efficient code out of a complex program structure. Moreover, conditional statements are also used while assigning post data or validate forms within an application.

Advantages of Ternary Operator

  • The code will be short in size as compared to the IF statement.
  • Readability increases with the use of conditional statements.
  • The use of this ternary operator makes the code simpler.

Ternary Shorthand

Shorthand can also be used with this ternary operator by leaving out the ternary operator's central portion. This shorthand operator is also known as Elvis operator, which is written as:

The full syntax can be written:

Shorthand comparisons in PHP

You probably already know some comparison operators in PHP. Things like the ternary ?: , the null coalescing ?? and the spaceship <=> operators. But do you really know how they work? Understanding these operators makes you use them more, resulting in a cleaner codebase.

Before looking at each operator in depth, here's a summary of what each of them does:

  • The ternary operator is used to shorten if/else structures
  • The null coalescing operator is used to provide default values instead of null
  • The spaceship operator is used to compare two values

# Ternary operator

The ternary operator is a shorthand for the if {} else {} structure. Instead of writing this:

You can write this:

If this $condition evaluates to true , the lefthand operand will be assigned to $result . If the condition evaluates to false , the righthand will be used.

Interesting fact: the name ternary operator actually means "an operator which acts on three operands". An operand is the term used to denote the parts needed by an expression. The ternary operator is the only operator in PHP which requires three operands: the condition, the true and the false result. Similarly, there are also binary and unary operators. You can read more about it here .

Back to ternary operators: do you know which expressions evaluate to true , and which don't? Take a look at the boolean column of this table .

The ternary operator will use its lefthand operand when the condition evaluates to true . This could be a string, an integer, a boolean etc. The righthand operand will be used for so called "falsy values".

Examples would be 0 or '0' , an empty array or string, null , an undefined or unassigned variable, and of course false itself. All these values will make the ternary operator use its righthand operand.

Noticed a tpyo? You can submit a PR to fix it. If you want to stay up to date about what's happening on this blog, you can subscribe to my mailing list : send an email to [email protected] , and I'll add you to the list.

# Shorthand ternary operator

Since PHP 5.3, it's possible to leave out the lefthand operand, allowing for even shorter expressions:

In this case, the value of $result will be the value of $initial , unless $initial evaluates to false , in which case the string 'default' is used.

You could write this expression the same way using the normal ternary operator:

Ironically, by leaving out the second operand of the ternary operator, it actually becomes a binary operator .

# Chaining ternary operators

The following, even though it seems logical; doesn't work in PHP:

The reason because is that the ternary operator in PHP is left-associative, and thus parsed in a very strange way. The above example would always evaluate the $elseCondition part first, so even when $firstCondition would be true , you'd never see its output.

I believe the right thing to do is to avoid nested ternary operators altogether. You can read more about this strange behaviour in this Stack Overflow answer .

Furthermore, as PHP 7.4, the use of chained ternaries without brackets is deprecated .

New in PHP 8.3

New in PHP 8.3

# Null coalescing operator

Did you take a look at the types comparison table earlier? The null coalescing operator is available since PHP 7.0. It similar to the ternary operator, but will behave like isset on the lefthand operand instead of just using its boolean value. This makes this operator especially useful for arrays and assigning defaults when a variable is not set.

The null coalescing operator takes two operands, making it a binary operator. "Coalescing" by the way, means "coming together to form one mass or whole". It will take two operands, and decide which of those to use based on the value of the lefthand operand.

# Null coalescing on arrays

This operator is especially useful in combination with arrays, because of its acts like isset . This means you can quickly check for the existence of keys, even nested keys, without writing verbose expressions.

The first example could also be written using a ternary operator:

Note that it's impossible to use the shorthand ternary operator when checking the existence of array keys. It will either trigger an error or return a boolean, instead of the real lefthand operand's value.

# Null coalesce chaining

The null coalescing operator can easily be chained:

# Nested coalescing

It's possible to use the null coalescing operator on nested object properties, even when a property in the chain is null .

# Null coalescing assignment operator

In PHP 7,4, we can expect an even shorter syntax called the "null coalescing assignment operator" .

In this example, $parameters['property'] will be set to 'default' , unless it is set in the array passed to the function. This would be equivalent to the following, using the current null coalescing operator:

# Spaceship operator

The spaceship operator, while having quite a peculiar name, can be very useful. It's an operator used for comparison. It will always return one of three values: 0 , -1 or 1 .

0 will be returned when both operands are equals, 1 when the left operand is larger, and -1 when the right operand is larger. Let's take a look at a simple example:

This simple example isn't all that exiting, right? However, the spaceship operator can compare a lot more than simple values!

Strangely enough, when comparing letter casing, the lowercase letter is considered the highest. There's a simple explanation though. String comparison is done by comparing character per character. As soon as a character differs, their ASCII value is compared. Because lowercase letters come after uppercase ones in the ASCII table, they have a higher value.

# Comparing objects

The spaceship operator can almost compare anything, even objects. The way objects are compared is based on the kind of object. Built-in PHP classes can define their own comparison, while userland objects are compared based on their attributes and values.

When would you want to compare objects you ask? Well, there's actually a very obvious example: dates.

Of course, comparing dates is just one example, but a very useful one nevertheless.

# Sort functions

One great use for this operator, is to sort arrays. There are quite a few ways to sort an array in PHP, and some of these methods allow a user defined sort function. This function has to compare two elements, and return 1 , 0 , or -1 based on their position.

An excellent use case for the spaceship operator!

To sort descending, you can simply invert the comparison result:

Hi there, thanks for reading! I hope this blog post helped you! If you'd like to contact me, you can do so on Twitter or via e-mail . I always love to chat!

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PHP Shorthand If/Else Using Ternary Operators (?:)

An essential part of programming is evaluating conditions using if/else and switch/case statements. If / Else statements are easy to code and global to all languages. If / Else statements are great but they can be too long.

I preach a lot about using shorthand CSS and using MooTools to make JavaScript relatively shorthand, so I look towards PHP to do the same. If/Else statements aren't optimal (or necessary) in all situations. Enter ternary operators.

Ternary operator logic is the process of using "(condition) ? (true return value) : (false return value)" statements to shorten your if/else structures.

What Does Ternary Logic Look Like?

What are the advantages of ternary logic.

There are some valuable advantages to using this type of logic:

  • Makes coding simple if/else logic quicker
  • You can do your if/else logic inline with output instead of breaking your output building for if/else statements
  • Makes code shorter
  • Makes maintaining code quicker, easier
  • Job security?

Tips for Using Ternary Operators

Here are a few tips for when using "?:" logic:

  • Don't go more levels deep than what you feel comfortable with maintaining.
  • If you work in a team setting, make sure the other programmers understand the code.
  • PHP.net recommends avoiding stacking ternary operators. "Is [sic] is recommended that you avoid "stacking" ternary expressions. PHP's behaviour when using more than one ternary operator within a single statement is non-obvious."
  • If you aren't experienced with using ternary operators, write your code using if/else first, then translate the code into ?'s and :'s.
  • Use enough parenthesis to keep your code organized, but not so many that you create "code soup."

More Sample Usage

Here are a couple more uses of ternary operators, ranging from simple to advanced:

To learn more about ternary operators and usage, visit PHP.net Comparison Operators .

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Nice job clarifying this! I keep forgetting the exact syntax for some reason…

Your second echo example in the more examples is missing the first ‘e’ in the code.

Nice article. I use this all the time. Often if/else statements get way too complicated. I love to shorten code and the (?:) operator helps a lot. It’s even a lot better when you can shorten it more than a (?:) can do: Yesterday I saw this excample in a high-end PHP OOP book:

if ($condition){ return true; } else { return false }

It’s a lot easier to just use:

return condition;

Mind you, the if-statement you supplied checks if $condition is NOT false, everything else will pass, which might not always be ideal.

You can always write:

To be sure that you return boolean.

I’ve been looking for a good explanation of this, thank you.

Now I’m off to scour my code for opportunities to practice.

ohh wow man, i really needed this thanks for sharing that with such nice explanation

thanks again

If you have some experience with Javascript I would say that it is similar to:

var test = result || error; //Javascript $test = $result ?: $error; //PHP

In which it would return “result” value if it is not empty [1]. Otherwise it will return “error” value.

I hope I was clear.

[1] : For empty values see: http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.empty.php

/* echo, inline */ echo ‘Based on your score, you are a ‘,($score > 10 ? ‘genius’ : ‘nobody’); //harsh!

I think you may a typo with the ‘,’ instead of a ‘.’

The comma is not a typo. Echo can take multiple strings as arguments. :)

http://php.net/manual/en/function.echo.php

These are nice shorthands, but be warned, it will make your code unreadable and less understandable.

What Stjepano says

If you code for longer, you start to let go of niftyness and look more towards readability. Using ternary operator wrong, indicates to me a lack of experience and/or youthful enthusiasm.

If you use them: – never nest ternary operators – Store the result in a variable which is named after the result (Eg. $geniusStatusLabel = ($iq>120)?'genius':'below genius' ) and use the variable later. – Be consistent in preferred value (if applicable). Eg. the following looks ackward $var = !isset($_POST['var'])?null:$_POST['var']

What is wrong with this code, I keep receiving an error. Creating a sticky form and I am using a simple if (submit) then ( $_POST['value'] )

I only need the if part of the if/else.

Thanks for any help

For people that might see this when searching..

$_POST['value'] should be $_POST['catBlurb']

Hey Dave! I don’t use ternary very often, but is really nice in spots where things need to be tidy.

I have a bit of a word of advice here on the use of ternary and collaboration. Dave addresses that in his points above, “Tips for Using Ternary Operators”.

As a rule I use ternary only if the If/Else is a ‘single line of code’ <— Yes this is variable depending on screen size. Just don't go overboard when working collaboratively or if there is a chance some-one else will inherit the code.

Great article. In the first example, I think it’s the same thing as doing : $var_is_greater_than_two = ($var > 2); Right ?

Technically yes, but the ternary operator lets you output whatever you want (i.e. a string “IT’S BIGGER!”, and not just true or false like in your example. This demonstrates how much more flexibility you get when using the ternary operator. :)

Excellent… would be. But parts of the page does not display under Opera/NetBSD. Please fix it. TIA

Good article, I’m glad some poeple cover this. One thing should be mentioned though – this should definitely not be used heavily. Embedded ternary operators, and nested ternary operators are a developer’s worst nightmare – it creates unnecessarily unreadable code that is difficult to maintain. Sometimes more code is better! :)

i’am looking for this thing , thx for your explanation bro.

Thank you for this explanation. I have a background in Java so coming to PHP I see many similar coding between the two. This is one of them. But I wanted to make sure its the same in both and found you via Google when searching.

“Makes maintaining code quicker, easier” – I’d say that it’s quote contrary. It makes it more difficult and obscure, not easier (these statements are by far easier to accidentally skip or misunderstand while analysing the code than regular ifs).

Thanks, David! You’re doing great job revealing PHP mysteries.

so, can i shorten this if else using ternary?

You should use switch/case http://php.net/manual/en/control-structures.switch.php

wish we had a syntax to test something and assign it to l_value if the test was successfull like y = x > 4 ?; means y = x if x > 4

y = x > 4 ? : z; means y= x if x > 4 else y = z would be a shorthand for y= x > 4 ? x : z

Note usually when we test a condition on a variable we want to assign the same value as above

then we could have

y = x > 4 ? w : z; means y = w if x > 4 else y = z

Thanks.. This was just what I was looking for!

Thanks… That is what i am looking for, sample usage attracts me!

Thanks bro, now I understand :)

Since PHP 5.3, it is possible to leave out the middle part of the ternary operator. Expression expr1 ?: expr3 returns expr1 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 otherwise. http://www.php.net/manual/en/language.operators.comparison.php#language.operators.comparison.ternary

You should show an example e.g.

echo $username ?: ‘unknown’; // same as echo $username ? $username : ‘unknown’;

Thanks for clarifying this only works from PHP 5.3+, I was getting nuts trying to figure it out why it wasn’t working.

Unlike (literally!) every other language with a similar operator, ?: is left associative. So this:

Will output: horse

Not all languages do things the same way. So you should never expect the same behavior in any of them. Though be pleasantly surprised is they are. For all other cases adapt your code accordingly.

Which is also usable in PHP in the same way. And both output the same result. This way if you want your code to be decently portable between languages, if that's a concern. Write it in a way that works either for both or decently for both.

Wow! I did not know that you don’t have to put a value after the question mark i.e. that you can do this:

Can I also do this:

Or will that throw an error?

The ternary operator IS NOT the same as if/else; a ternary operator assures that a variable is given an assignment.

compare that to:

I did want to add that in PHP ternary does not always make code shorter than a if/else. Given that you can code in similar if/else blocks to that of ternary. Many people are so hooked on the typical logic that if/else requires specifically if and else and brackets { }. Then when you do deeply nested ternary you then use ( ). Though with deeply nested if/else you can forgo the brackets, you can not with ternary. A deeply nested if/else simply understands the flow of logic without them. IE so many )))))))))); at the end of a deeply nested ternary. Which you can forgo in a deeply nested if/else, which the blow structure can also be a part of.

Don’t do stupid things with PHP. Make your code human readable. i.e.

Thanks for introducing me to this concept. It makes the code a lot shorter and once you are used to it even easier to read. I use this quite often now for example in this context:

could actually be just:

and its much clearer…

Just my two cents.

Technically yes, but the ternary operator lets you output whatever you want (i.e. a string “IT’S BIGGER!”, and not just true or false like in your example. This demonstrates how much more flexibility you get when using the ternary operator. :)

Very clean and nice, thanks :-)

I linked to it in my first post http://davidwalsh.name/php-shorthand-if-else-ternary-operators#comment-78632

> The expression (expr1) ? (expr2) : (expr3) evaluates to expr2 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 if expr1 evaluates to FALSE.

Since PHP 5.3, it is possible to leave out the middle part of the ternary operator. Expression expr1 ?: expr3 returns expr1 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 otherwise.

The ternary operator shouldn’t differ in performance from a well-written equivalent if/else statement… The only potential benefit to ternary operators over plain if statements in my view is their ability to be used for initializations

You mention in your article a list of advantages but you fail to mention the disadvantages. Also, one would argue that some of the claimed advatages are questionable. For example it can make maintaining the code slower and harder instead of quicker and easier if the expression in the ternary operator is not completely basic.

Some other disadvantages. – Code is more prone to cause a conflicts when merging changes from different developers. – It makes debugging more difficult since you can not place breakpoints on each of the sub expressions. – It can get very difficult to read – It can lead to long lines of code

Another disadvantage for the operators ternary is more slow than the operator traditional, or not?

For example:

http://fabien.potencier.org/the-php-ternary-operator-fast-or-not.html

What do you mean by “Job security”?

return !!$condition

Good One “Job Security”!

For flexibility yes, for readability no. It looks like a mess at first glance if overused and I’m not a fan of it unless i need to use it.

In php, does the

evaluate all of the expressions before assigning the expression-2 or the expression-2 result to the value based on the expression-1, without or without short-circuiting? If so, then care must be taken to ensure that both expression-2 and expression-3 (and, of coarse, expression-1) are valid, which makes using the ternary operator somewhat more complicated than it might at first seem, such as when handling optional parameters.

Wrap your code in <pre class="{language}"></pre> tags, link to a GitHub gist, JSFiddle fiddle, or CodePen pen to embed!

  • Ternary, Elvis, and Null Coalescing Operators

In this tutorial, you’ll learn the usage of Ternary operator, ?: Elvis operator, ?? Null coalescing operator, and ??= Null coalescing assignment operator.

  • Post author By BrainBell
  • Post date May 22, 2022

php ternary operator without assignment

Ternary operator

  • ?: Elvis operator
  • ?? Null coalescing operator
  • ??= Null coalescing assignment operator
  • Comparing Ternary, Elvis, and Null coalescing operators

The ternary operator can replace a single if/else clause . Unlike other PHP operators, which work on either a single expression (for example, !$var ) or two expressions (for example, $a == $b ), the ternary operator uses three expressions. If the first one is evaluated to true, then the second expression is returned, and if it is false, the third one is returned.

The ternary operator ?: works with three sets of data:

  • before the question mark (condition)
  • after the question mark (before the colon)
  • after the colon

If the first set (condition) is true then the result is the second set (after the question mark). If the first set (condition) is false, the result is the third set (after the colon). See the following example:

The isset function tests if $a is declared and is different than NULL . If true the result will be the second expression $a otherwise the third expression default value .

The above examples are identical to the following if statement:

Elvis ?: operator:

What are the question mark and colon symbols in PHP?

The ternary operator lets your code use the value of one expression or another, based on whether the condition is true or false:

In PHP 5.3 you can now omit the second expression in the list:

This code evaluates the value of the first expression if the first expression is true – otherwise, it evaluates the value of the third expression (the second expression is omitted).

Note: The isset function checks whether a variable is defined or exists, return true if the variable is set, otherwise return false. If you use an undefined variable without testing its existence, the Elvis operator ?: raises an E_NOTICE if the variable does not exist. See the following example:

It is recommended to use the null coalescing operator instead of Elvis operator because the null coalescing operator doesn’t raise a notice error if the variable is not set.

?? Null Coalescing Operator

How to use double question ?? marks in PHP?

The null coalescing operator ?? is just a special case of the ternary operator. It doesn’t raise a notice error if the variable is not set (and you don’t need to test it with isset function):

PHP 7 introduced “null coalesce operator ( ?? )” to check whether a variable contains a value, or returns a default value. This operator ?? is ideal to use with $_POST and $_GET for getting input from users or URLs. It does not generate any notices if not defined. We can provide the default values if the parameters are not received from user input, the null coalesce operator ?? enables you to write even shorter expressions, see the following example:

Channing Null coalesce operator :

This will return the first defined value from the expression, the above example can be written without using the null coalesce operator:

??= Null Coalescing Assignment Operator

Using double question marks and an equal sign in PHP.

PHP 7.4 added the null coalescing assignment operator ??= . This operator assigns a value to a variable only if the variable is unassigned or undefined:

Ternary ?: vs. ?? Null Coalescing Operator

The shorthand ternary (Elvis) operator will print Notice: Undefined variable: user... message if $_GET['user'] is not defined.

If a value exists, the null coalesce operator ?? always returns the first expression while the ternary shorthand operator ?: returns the first expression if the value isn’t equivalent to false .

PHP Control Structures:

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php ternary operator without assignment

CodedTag

  • Ternary Operator

The PHP Ternary Operator is a shorthand syntax for an if-else statement. It provides a concise way to write conditional expressions in a single line of code.

The usage of the ternary operator is frequent when assigning values to variables based on specific conditions.

Let’s take a look at its syntax in PHP.

The Basic Syntax

The basic syntax of the PHP Ternary Operator is:

Here, the condition is the expression that is evaluated. If it is true, the variable is assigned the true_value; otherwise, it is assigned the false_value.

Anyway, the ternary operator is useful for writing compact and readable code when dealing with simple conditional assignments. However, it’s important to use it judiciously and consider readability, as complex ternary expressions can become difficult to understand.

Let’s take an example of how to write shorthand using the ternary operator within PHP.

Using the Shorthand Ternary Operator in PHP

The ternary operator itself is often informally called the shorthand or conditional operator because it provides a compact syntax for expressing conditional statements in a single line. It is commonly used for quick, one-line assignments based on a condition. Here’s a brief example:

In this example, the ternary operator serves as a shorthand way to assign the boolean value true to the variable $isAdult if the condition $age >= 18 is true, and false otherwise. The term “shorthand” reflects the brevity and simplicity that the ternary operator introduces compared to the more verbose if-else statements.

In this way, we just need to understand the difference between the traditional if statement and the ternary operator. Let’s move on to the following section to delve into more details.

Ternary Operator vs. Traditional If-Else Statements in PHP

The Ternary Operator provides a concise way to express the conditional assignment in a single line. However, for more complex conditions or multiple actions, the traditional If-Else Statements may be preferred for better readability and maintainability.

Consequently, the Ternary Operator and traditional If-Else Statements in PHP serve distinct purposes, and their differences can be illustrated through a simple example. Consider checking whether a given number is even or odd.

PHP Ternary Operator:

The condition $number % 2 === 0 is evaluated. If true, 'even' is assigned to the $result variable; otherwise, 'odd' is assigned. The entire operation is condensed into a single line, promoting conciseness and readability for straightforward conditions.

On the other hand, with traditional If-Else Statements :

The condition is checked using the if statement. If true, 'even' is assigned to $result ; otherwise, the else block assigns 'odd' . This approach is more suitable for scenarios with complex conditions or multiple actions, as it allows for a clearer and more structured representation of the logic.

Let’s take a look at another pattern for the PHP ternary operator, specifically the nested ternary operator.

Nested Ternary Operator

Nested ternary operators refer to the use of multiple ternary operators within a single expression. This can lead to concise yet complex conditional logic, but it requires careful consideration of readability. Here’s an example to illustrate nested ternary operators:

In this example:

  • The outer ternary operator checks if $number is even.
  • If true, the inner ternary operator checks if $number is positive.
  • Depending on the conditions, different messages are assigned to the $result variable.

Additionally, you can utilize the ternary operator with short echo tags. Let’s explore how it works through an example.

Ternary Operator in Short Echo Tags in PHP

In PHP, the ternary operator can be utilized within short echo tags ( <?= ... ?> ) to conditionally output values. Short echo tags are a shorthand way of writing an echo statement.

Here’s an example demonstrating the use of the ternary operator within short echo tags:

This results in the output message “Your result: Pass” if the score is 75 or higher, and ‘Your result: Fail’ if the score is below 70.

Let’s summarize it.

Wrapping Up

the PHP Ternary Operator offers a concise syntax for expressing conditional assignments in a single line of code, providing a quick and efficient way to handle simple conditions. While it promotes brevity and readability for straightforward assignments, it’s crucial to use it judiciously, especially for more complex scenarios.

The comparison between the Ternary Operator and traditional If-Else Statements highlights the distinct purposes each serves. The Ternary Operator is suitable for streamlined, one-line assignments, while If-Else Statements are preferable for more intricate conditions or multiple actions, enhancing code readability and maintainability.

The exploration of nested ternary operators introduces a more advanced pattern, emphasizing the importance of carefully balancing conciseness with readability in complex conditional logic.

Additionally, the ability to use the ternary operator within short echo tags provides a convenient way to conditionally output values, streamlining the process of generating dynamic content in PHP.

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php ternary operator without assignment

Using the if-else and switch case is an essential part of programming for evaluating conditions. We always look for shortcuts everywhere whether it is a route for traveling or game or code. In this Ternary Operator PHP , we will see how it is used for shortening conditional statements in the following sequence:

What is Ternary operator?

When do we use ternary operator, advantages of ternary operator, ternary shorthand, null coalescing operator.

The ternary operator is a conditional operator that decreases the length of code while performing comparisons and conditionals. This method is an alternative for using if-else and nested if-else statements. The order of execution for this operator is from left to right. Obviously, it is the best case for a time-saving option.

It also produces an e-notice while encountering a void value with its conditionals. It is called a ternary operator because it takes three operands – a condition, a result for true, and a result for false.

  • Condition: It is the expression to be evaluated which returns a boolean value.
  • Statement 1: it is the statement to be executed if the condition results in a true state.
  • Statement 2: It is the statement to be executed if the condition results in a false state.

Example program to whether student is pass or fail:

We use ternary operator when we need to simplify if-else statements that are used to assign values to variables. Moreover, it is commonly used when we assign post data or validate forms.

Let’s say, we were programming a login form for a college university where we wanted to ensure that the user entered their registration number provided by the university then we could move further.

Let’s look at an example of a validation form for better understanding:

In order to get the values of our text fields, we can use the following code:

  • It will make the code shorter
  • It will make the code more readable
  • The code becomes simpler

Short ternary operator syntax can be used by leaving out the middle part of the ternary operator for quick shorthand evaluation. It is also referred to as Elvis operatory(?:)

Elvis operator can be used in order to reduce redundancy of your conditions and shorten the length of your assignments. It is the ternary operator with the second operand omitted. It will return the first operand if the operand is true else it evaluates and returns its second operand.

If you use the ternary shorthand operator like this, it will cause notice if

is not set, instead of writing some lengthy code like this:

It replaces the ternary operation in conjunction with isset() function which is used to check whether a given variable is NULL or not and returns its first operand if it exists and is not NULL else it returns the second operand.

It will fetch the value of $_GET[‘user’] and returns ‘nobody’ if it does not exist.

Instead of writing some lengthy code like this:

With this we come to an end of this article, I hope you understood the ternary operator, the purpose and advantages of the ternary operator, Ternary shorthand and Null coalescing Operator.

If you found this Ternary Operator blog relevant, check out the PHP Certification Training  by Edureka, a trusted online learning company with a network of more than 250,000 satisfied learners spread across the globe.

Got a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section of ”ternary operator in php” and I will get back to you.

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How To Do Almost Anything

How to Use the PHP Ternary Operator

November 11, 2007 by Doogie - Copyright - All Rights Reserved

The ternary operator is a shortcut comparison operator that replaces an if-else statement in a PHP script. If you use a lot of comparison statements in your scripts, this can greatly reduce the number of lines of code. The ternary operator is really very simple to use, but it does tend to confuse newbie PHP programmers.

The ternary operator is only used for assignment of values to variables and to reduce the lines of code and compact PHP statements. Although it is a little more difficult to read, once you understand how it operates, it is simple to use and understand.

There are four parts to a ternary statement. The first is the variable where the result of the conditional test will be assigned. The second part is he condition that is being evaluated for a True or False boolean result. The third part is the value that is assigned if the condition is true. The last part is the value assigned if the condition is false.

Let’s start with the most common use of this shortcut. If your scripts are processing large amounts of data that users have entered using HTML forms, you are undoubtedly assigning the form values to variables. When a value does not exist, a default value would normally be assigned like this:

Using a ternary operator statement, that same conditional test and assignment of values would look like this:

The interpretation is: If a value has been passed in the form variable named statusID via the POST method, assign that value to $statusID. If no value was passed, assign the default value of 1.

Sometimes you will see a variation of the same statement that looks like this:

The result will be the same, but the condition being tested has been flipped–rather than testing to see if a value does exist, it is testing to see if a value is missing. The interpretation is: If a no value has been passed via the POST method, assign the default value of 1. If a value was passed, assign that value to $statusID.

Ternary operators really shine when assigning text to simple messages, such as:

The interpretation is: If the value in $age is less than 21, then “Minor, no drinks” is assigned to $msg, else “Adult – have a beer” is assigned.

Here is a cool method for assigning alternating background colors to table rows or other tabular displays of data.

Running this code will display the following:

While this example uses an array, it is just as simple to do the same using data extracted from MySQL.

How to build ternary if/else without else?

I’m trying to build a ternary if/else statement for checking if a POST var is set. But it gives me an error if I leave the else field empy or remove it. How could this be done?

I basically want: No else.

You cannot build a ternary operator with only one expected result. Its simple Boolean logic, it just returns two values.

I would suggest you just stick with the first if/else statement you have. Besides using ternary operators can be harder to read in comparison to the standard if/else statements.

This will assign a value submitted from form if it is set otherwise it will put a empty string.

I you really want to use the ternary operator without specifying the else, wait for php6, it’s in there :nod:

Since PHP 5.3, it is possible to leave out the middle part of the ternary operator. Expression expr1 ?: expr3 returns expr1 if expr1 evaluates to TRUE, and expr3 otherwise.

:frowning:

Please consider using PHP’s filter_input method.

There’s also a wide variety of validation and sanitisation filters that you can apply to it too.

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Ternary Operator in Python

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Assignment operators in python.

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In Python programming, Operators in general are used to perform operations on values and variables. These are standard symbols used for logical and arithmetic operations. In this article, we will look into different types of Python operators. 

  • OPERATORS: These are the special symbols. Eg- + , * , /, etc.
  • OPERAND: It is the value on which the operator is applied.

Types of Operators in Python

  • Arithmetic Operators
  • Comparison Operators
  • Logical Operators
  • Bitwise Operators
  • Assignment Operators
  • Identity Operators and Membership Operators

Python Operators

Arithmetic Operators in Python

Python Arithmetic operators are used to perform basic mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication , and division .

In Python 3.x the result of division is a floating-point while in Python 2.x division of 2 integers was an integer. To obtain an integer result in Python 3.x floored (// integer) is used.

Example of Arithmetic Operators in Python

Division operators.

In Python programming language Division Operators allow you to divide two numbers and return a quotient, i.e., the first number or number at the left is divided by the second number or number at the right and returns the quotient. 

There are two types of division operators: 

Float division

  • Floor division

The quotient returned by this operator is always a float number, no matter if two numbers are integers. For example:

Example: The code performs division operations and prints the results. It demonstrates that both integer and floating-point divisions return accurate results. For example, ’10/2′ results in ‘5.0’ , and ‘-10/2’ results in ‘-5.0’ .

Integer division( Floor division)

The quotient returned by this operator is dependent on the argument being passed. If any of the numbers is float, it returns output in float. It is also known as Floor division because, if any number is negative, then the output will be floored. For example:

Example: The code demonstrates integer (floor) division operations using the // in Python operators . It provides results as follows: ’10//3′ equals ‘3’ , ‘-5//2’ equals ‘-3’ , ‘ 5.0//2′ equals ‘2.0’ , and ‘-5.0//2’ equals ‘-3.0’ . Integer division returns the largest integer less than or equal to the division result.

Precedence of Arithmetic Operators in Python

The precedence of Arithmetic Operators in Python is as follows:

  • P – Parentheses
  • E – Exponentiation
  • M – Multiplication (Multiplication and division have the same precedence)
  • D – Division
  • A – Addition (Addition and subtraction have the same precedence)
  • S – Subtraction

The modulus of Python operators helps us extract the last digit/s of a number. For example:

  • x % 10 -> yields the last digit
  • x % 100 -> yield last two digits

Arithmetic Operators With Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Modulo and Power

Here is an example showing how different Arithmetic Operators in Python work:

Example: The code performs basic arithmetic operations with the values of ‘a’ and ‘b’ . It adds (‘+’) , subtracts (‘-‘) , multiplies (‘*’) , computes the remainder (‘%’) , and raises a to the power of ‘b (**)’ . The results of these operations are printed.

Note: Refer to Differences between / and // for some interesting facts about these two Python operators.

Comparison of Python Operators

In Python Comparison of Relational operators compares the values. It either returns True or False according to the condition.

= is an assignment operator and == comparison operator.

Precedence of Comparison Operators in Python

In Python, the comparison operators have lower precedence than the arithmetic operators. All the operators within comparison operators have the same precedence order.

Example of Comparison Operators in Python

Let’s see an example of Comparison Operators in Python.

Example: The code compares the values of ‘a’ and ‘b’ using various comparison Python operators and prints the results. It checks if ‘a’ is greater than, less than, equal to, not equal to, greater than, or equal to, and less than or equal to ‘b’ .

Logical Operators in Python

Python Logical operators perform Logical AND , Logical OR , and Logical NOT operations. It is used to combine conditional statements.

Precedence of Logical Operators in Python

The precedence of Logical Operators in Python is as follows:

  • Logical not
  • logical and

Example of Logical Operators in Python

The following code shows how to implement Logical Operators in Python:

Example: The code performs logical operations with Boolean values. It checks if both ‘a’ and ‘b’ are true ( ‘and’ ), if at least one of them is true ( ‘or’ ), and negates the value of ‘a’ using ‘not’ . The results are printed accordingly.

Bitwise Operators in Python

Python Bitwise operators act on bits and perform bit-by-bit operations. These are used to operate on binary numbers.

Precedence of Bitwise Operators in Python

The precedence of Bitwise Operators in Python is as follows:

  • Bitwise NOT
  • Bitwise Shift
  • Bitwise AND
  • Bitwise XOR

Here is an example showing how Bitwise Operators in Python work:

Example: The code demonstrates various bitwise operations with the values of ‘a’ and ‘b’ . It performs bitwise AND (&) , OR (|) , NOT (~) , XOR (^) , right shift (>>) , and left shift (<<) operations and prints the results. These operations manipulate the binary representations of the numbers.

Python Assignment operators are used to assign values to the variables.

Let’s see an example of Assignment Operators in Python.

Example: The code starts with ‘a’ and ‘b’ both having the value 10. It then performs a series of operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and a left shift operation on ‘b’ . The results of each operation are printed, showing the impact of these operations on the value of ‘b’ .

Identity Operators in Python

In Python, is and is not are the identity operators both are used to check if two values are located on the same part of the memory. Two variables that are equal do not imply that they are identical. 

Example Identity Operators in Python

Let’s see an example of Identity Operators in Python.

Example: The code uses identity operators to compare variables in Python. It checks if ‘a’ is not the same object as ‘b’ (which is true because they have different values) and if ‘a’ is the same object as ‘c’ (which is true because ‘c’ was assigned the value of ‘a’ ).

Membership Operators in Python

In Python, in and not in are the membership operators that are used to test whether a value or variable is in a sequence.

Examples of Membership Operators in Python

The following code shows how to implement Membership Operators in Python:

Example: The code checks for the presence of values ‘x’ and ‘y’ in the list. It prints whether or not each value is present in the list. ‘x’ is not in the list, and ‘y’ is present, as indicated by the printed messages. The code uses the ‘in’ and ‘not in’ Python operators to perform these checks.

in Python, Ternary operators also known as conditional expressions are operators that evaluate something based on a condition being true or false. It was added to Python in version 2.5. 

It simply allows testing a condition in a single line replacing the multiline if-else making the code compact.

Syntax :   [on_true] if [expression] else [on_false] 

Examples of Ternary Operator in Python

The code assigns values to variables ‘a’ and ‘b’ (10 and 20, respectively). It then uses a conditional assignment to determine the smaller of the two values and assigns it to the variable ‘min’ . Finally, it prints the value of ‘min’ , which is 10 in this case.

In Python, Operator precedence and associativity determine the priorities of the operator.

Operator Precedence in Python

This is used in an expression with more than one operator with different precedence to determine which operation to perform first.

Let’s see an example of how Operator Precedence in Python works:

Example: The code first calculates and prints the value of the expression 10 + 20 * 30 , which is 610. Then, it checks a condition based on the values of the ‘name’ and ‘age’ variables. Since the name is “ Alex” and the condition is satisfied using the or operator, it prints “Hello! Welcome.”

Operator Associativity in Python

If an expression contains two or more operators with the same precedence then Operator Associativity is used to determine. It can either be Left to Right or from Right to Left.

The following code shows how Operator Associativity in Python works:

Example: The code showcases various mathematical operations. It calculates and prints the results of division and multiplication, addition and subtraction, subtraction within parentheses, and exponentiation. The code illustrates different mathematical calculations and their outcomes.

To try your knowledge of Python Operators, you can take out the quiz on Operators in Python . 

Python Operator Exercise Questions

Below are two Exercise Questions on Python Operators. We have covered arithmetic operators and comparison operators in these exercise questions. For more exercises on Python Operators visit the page mentioned below.

Q1. Code to implement basic arithmetic operations on integers

Q2. Code to implement Comparison operations on integers

Explore more Exercises: Practice Exercise on Operators in Python

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COMMENTS

  1. Using Ternary Operator without the Else statement PHP

    Is there a way to use the Ternary Operator without the attached else statement, or am I stuck writing it out longhand? EDIT: Following Rizier123's advice, I tried setting the 'else' part of the equation to NULL, but it still ends up appending a key to an array.

  2. PHP Ternary Operator

    Note that the name ternary operator comes from the fact that this operator requires three operands: expression, value1, value2. PHP ternary operator example Suppose you want to display the login link if the user has not logged in and the logout link if the user has already logged in.

  3. PHP

    Syntax: (Condition) ? (Statement1) : (Statement2); Condition: It is the expression to be evaluated and returns a boolean value. Statement 1: It is the statement to be executed if the condition results in a true state. Statement 2: It is the statement to be executed if the condition results in a false state. The result of this comparison can also be assigned to a variable using the assignment ...

  4. PHP Ternary Operator: A Complete Guide

    The ternary operator (?:) serves as a concise alternative to the if…else statement. It is recommended to use this operator when it simplifies and enhances the readability of your code. Discover the functionality of the PHP ternary operator. Our guide offers a deep dive into its syntax, use-cases, and best practices.

  5. Mastering Ternary Operator in PHP

    The ternary operator in PHP is a powerful tool for writing concise and readable conditional statements. Throughout this tutorial, we've explored its use across various scenarios, illustrating how to effectively use it to streamline your PHP code. Remember that readability should always come first, so use ternary operators wisely.

  6. PHP Ternary Operator

    Ternary operators can be defined as a conditional operator that is reasonable for cutting the lines of codes in your program while accomplishing comparisons as well as conditionals. This is treated as an alternative method of implementing if-else or even nested if-else statements. This conditional statement takes its execution from left to right.

  7. Shorthand comparisons in PHP

    It's an operator used for comparison. It will always return one of three values: 0, -1 or 1. 0 will be returned when both operands are equals, 1 when the left operand is larger, and -1 when the right operand is larger. Let's take a look at a simple example: 1 <=> 2; // Will return -1, as 2 is larger than 1.

  8. PHP Shorthand If/Else Using Ternary Operators (?:)

    Dave addresses that in his points above, "Tips for Using Ternary Operators". As a rule I use ternary only if the If/Else is a 'single line of code' <— Yes this is variable depending on screen size. Just don't go overboard when working collaboratively or if there is a chance some-one else will inherit the code. Eight.

  9. Ternary, Elvis, and Null Coalescing Operators in PHP

    The ternary operator lets your code use the value of one expression or another, based on whether the condition is true or false: In PHP 5.3 you can now omit the second expression in the list: This code evaluates the value of the first expression if the first expression is true - otherwise, it evaluates the value of the third expression (the ...

  10. PHP Ternary Operator: Craft Clear Conditional

    The PHP Ternary Operator is a shorthand syntax for an if-else statement. It provides a concise way to write conditional expressions in a single line of code. The usage of the ternary operator is frequent when assigning values to variables based on specific conditions.

  11. Using the Ternary Operator in PHP

    The ternary operator in PHP is a conditional operator that allows you to execute a statement based on whether a condition is true or false. Using the ternary operator is just like writing an "if…else" statement in PHP, but more concise and potentially more readable. This PHP operator is best used when you need to assign a variable a value ...

  12. Use of ternary operator without using assignment or return

    3. Try using it like this : x = isCompleted ? intValue(if true) : intValue(if false); Since you have declared x as int, you will have to provide the values in int irrespective of the condition evaluated. Any other type value you use wont work here. Hence the false that you wrote is wrong.

  13. Ternary and Ternary Coalescing Operator in PHP • PHP.Watch

    PHP supports various forms of ternary and coalescing operators. This is a quick post to catch-up to all ternary and coalescing operators supports in PHP. 1. Ternary Operator: cond ? expr1 : expr2. Ternary operator is a short form for an if/else block that executes exactly one expression each.

  14. How to use the PHP Ternary Operator

    The ternary operator is a conditional operator that decreases the length of code while performing comparisons and conditionals. This method is an alternative for using if-else and nested if-else statements. The order of execution for this operator is from left to right. Obviously, it is the best case for a time-saving option.

  15. PHP Shortcuts

    The ternary operator is a shortcut comparison operator that replaces an if-else statement in a PHP script. If you use a lot of comparison statements in your scripts, this can greatly reduce the number of lines of code. The ternary operator is really very simple to use, but it does tend to confuse newbie PHP programmers.

  16. How to build ternary if/else without else?

    You cannot build a ternary operator with only one expected result. Its simple Boolean logic, it just returns two values. I would suggest you just stick with the first if/else statement you have.

  17. ternary operator

    That sintax you wrote works on some other languages but apparently not on php. I think you should just stick to the ternary operator or write a function for that as a shortcut if you're going to use this kind of verification a lot on your page.

  18. Ternary conditional operator

    Variations. The detailed semantics of "the" ternary operator as well as its syntax differs significantly from language to language. A top level distinction from one language to another is whether the expressions permit side effects (as in most procedural languages) and whether the language provides short-circuit evaluation semantics, whereby only the selected expression is evaluated (most ...

  19. PHP ternary !empty rather than evaluates to true or false

    2. The string "0" and "false" are considered FALSE -y ( list of false values) values in PHP. isset() returns TRUE for variables that are set and not NULL. empty() will check that the variable is set and that is isn't a FALSE value. So it would return TRUE for "0". I think that what you want is your third code snippet, but with isset(), rather ...

  20. Ternary Operator in Programming

    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 ...

  21. Java Ternary without Assignment

    Is there a way to do a java ternary operation without doing an assignment or way to fake the assignment? OK, so when you write a statement like this: (bool1 && bool2) ? voidFunc1() : voidFunc2(); there are two distinct problems with the code: The 2nd and 3rd operands of a conditional expression 1 cannot be calls to void methods. Reference: JLS ...

  22. php

    Thanks for contributing an answer to Stack Overflow! Please be sure to answer the question.Provide details and share your research! But avoid …. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

  23. Python Operators

    In Python programming, Operators in general are used to perform operations on values and variables. These are standard symbols used for logical and arithmetic operations. In this article, we will look into different types of Python operators. OPERATORS: These are the special symbols. Eg- + , * , /, etc.