2. INTRODUCTION
○ The conditional operator is the one operator in
C that is considered a ternary operator,
specifically because it requires three operands.
○ Binary operators require two operands, and
unary operators require one operand. So, the
conditional operator is not THE ternary
operator. It is an operator that just happens to
be ternary.
○ The conditional operator is a shorthand for a
specific if-else control structure scenario.
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4. “
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○ The basic syntax of a Ternary Operator in C Programming is as
shown below:
expression ? statement1: statement2
○ From the above syntax, If the given test condition is true then it
will return statement1 and if the condition is false then statement2
is returned.
6. Example
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/* Ternary Operator in C Example */
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
int age;
printf(" Please Enter your age here: n ");
scanf(" %d ", &age);
(age >= 18) ? printf(" You are eligible to Vote ") : printf(" You are not eligible to Vote ");
return 0;
}
8. char *diagnosis;
double temperature;
if (temperature <= 98.6)
{
diagnosis = "well";
}
else
{
diagnosis = "sick";
}
printf("With a temperature of %.1f,
you appear to be
%s.n",temperature, diagnosis);
If-else and
Conditional
Code block
Comparison
char *diagnosis;
double temperature;
diagnosis = (temperature <= 98.6) ?
"well" : "sick";
printf("With a temperature of %.1f, you
appear to be %s.n",
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9. Points to
Remember
○ The conditional operator does not take the place of all if-else control
structures. It is designed specifically for the situation where an
expression needs to take on one value if the condition is true, and a
different value of the condition is false.
○ Some coding/style standards consider the conditional operator to be
less readable than the equivalent if-else statement, so check your local
coding/style standard.
○ Although conditional operators can be nested (i.e., another conditional
operator can be used inside the true section between the ? and :,
another conditional operator can be used inside the false section after
the :), this practice leads much less readable code.
○ Nesting of conditional operators should be avoided, to keep the code
readable and maintainable.
○ You may find the conditional operator used in #define macros, because
it facilitates conditional decisions within an expression.
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