C# Language Operators ? : Ternary Operator

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Example

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

Syntax:

condition ? expression_if_true : expression_if_false;

Example:

string name = "Frank";
Console.WriteLine(name == "Frank" ? "The name is Frank" : "The name is not Frank");

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.

light.intensity = Clamp(light.intensity, minLight, maxLight);

public static float Clamp(float val, float min, float max)
{
    return (val < min) ? min : (val > max) ? max : val;
}

Ternary operators can also be nested, such as:

a ? b ? "a is true, b is true" : "a is true, b is false" : "a is false"

// This is evaluated from left to right and can be more easily seen with parenthesis:

a ? (b ? x : y) : z

// Where the result is x if a && b, y if a && !b, and z if !a

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.

condition ? 3 : "Not three"; // Doesn't compile because `int` and `string` lack an implicit conversion.

condition ? 3.ToString() : "Not three"; // OK because both possible outputs are strings.

condition ? 3 : 3.5; // OK because there is an implicit conversion from `int` to `double`. The ternary operator will return a `double`.

condition ? 3.5 : 3; // OK because there is an implicit conversion from `int` to `double`. The ternary operator will return a `double`.

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

public class Car
{}

public class SportsCar : Car
{}

public class SUV : Car
{}

condition ? new SportsCar() : new Car(); // OK because there is an implicit conversion from `SportsCar` to `Car`. The ternary operator will return a reference of type `Car`.

condition ? new Car() : new SportsCar(); // OK because there is an implicit conversion from `SportsCar` to `Car`. The ternary operator will return a reference of type `Car`.

condition ? new SportsCar() : new SUV(); // Doesn't compile because there is no implicit conversion from `SportsCar` to SUV or `SUV` to `SportsCar`. The compiler is not smart enough to realize that both of them have an implicit conversion to `Car`.

condition ? new SportsCar() as Car : new SUV() as Car; // OK because both expressions evaluate to a reference of type `Car`. The ternary operator will return a reference of type `Car`.


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