Learn Ternary Operator | Advanced Conditional Techniques

The ternary operator in C provides a concise way to write simple conditional expressions. Its syntax is condition ? expr1 : expr2, where condition is evaluated first. If the condition is true (nonzero), the entire expression evaluates to expr1; if the condition is false (zero), it evaluates to expr2. This operator is especially useful for assigning a value to a variable based on a condition, allowing you to write more compact code than with a full if-else statement.

ternary_syntax.c


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// Syntax of the ternary operator in C
// This example does not include a main function.

int result;
result = (condition) ? value1 : value2;

The ternary operator's syntax, condition ? expr1 : expr2, allows you to perform simple assignments based on a condition in a single statement.

max_of_two.c


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#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 7;
    int b = 12;
    int max;

    max = (a > b) ? a : b;

    printf("The larger number is: %d\n", max);
    return 0;
}

This is particularly useful when you want to choose between two values quickly, without the need for multiple lines of code or a full if-else block.

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Section 3. Chapter 1

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