Ternary Operator in C: Ternary Operator vs. if...else Statement

What is the Ternary Operator?

The ternary (conditional) operator ?: is a shorthand way of writing a simple if...else statement in a single line.

Syntax

condition ? expression_if_true : expression_if_false;

Example

int a = 10, b = 20, max;
max = (a > b) ? a : b;
printf("%d", max);  // 20

Ternary vs if...else

• Ternary operator is more compact for simple conditions returning a value.
• if...else is better for multiple statements or complex branching logic.
• Overusing nested ternary operators can hurt readability.