Ternary operator
The ternary operator is an operator that exists in some programming languages, which takes three operands rather than the typical one or two that most operators use. It provides a way to shorten a simple if else block. For example, consider the JavaScript code below.
var num = 4, msg = "";
if (num === 4) {
msg = "Correct!";
}
else {
msg = "Incorrect!";
}
alert(msg);
If the num variable equals 4, then the user gets a "Correct!" message. Otherwise, the user gets an "Incorrect!" message. With this type of comparison, you can shorten the code using the ternary operator. Below is an example of how it works.
variable_name = (condition) ? value_if_true : value_if false;
A ternary operator lets you assign one value to the variable if the condition is true, and another value if the condition is false.
The if else block example from above could now be written as shown in the example below.
var num = 4, msg = "";
msg = (num === 4) ? "Correct!" : "Incorrect!";
alert(msg);
A ternary operator makes the assignment of a value to a variable easier to see, because it's on a single line instead of an if else block.