Conditional Operator in C

The conditional operator (also known as the ternary operator) is a shorthand way to express a conditional statement. It allows you to evaluate a condition and choose between two possible values or expressions based on whether the condition is true or false. The conditional operator has the following syntax:

condition ? expression1 : expression2

• condition: An expression that is evaluated as either true (non-zero) or false (zero).
• expression1: The value or expression to be returned if the condition is true.
• expression2: The value or expression to be returned if the condition is false.

The conditional operator is often used as a more concise alternative to an if-else statement when assigning a value based on a condition.

Here’s an example that demonstrates the use of the conditional operator to find the maximum of two numbers:

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int a = 5, b = 7;
    int max = (a > b) ? a : b; // Find the maximum of a and b using the conditional operator

    printf("The maximum of %d and %d is %d\n", a, b, max);

    return 0;
}

In this example:

• The condition (a > b) is evaluated first.
• If the condition is true (i.e., a is greater than b), the value of a is assigned to max.
• If the condition is false (i.e., a is not greater than b), the value of b is assigned to max.

So, the output of this program will be “The maximum of 5 and 7 is 7.”

The conditional operator is particularly useful when you want to make a quick decision between two values or expressions based on a condition. It can make your code more concise and easier to read in such cases. However, it should be used judiciously to maintain code readability and avoid excessive complexity.