In C, the shorthand if-else statement, also known as the ternary operator, is used to simplify conditional statements that have only two possible outcomes.
The syntax for the ternary operator is:
(condition) ? value_if_true : value_if_false;
Here, the condition is a logical expression that evaluates to true or false, and value_if_true and value_if_false are expressions that will be evaluated and returned based on the outcome of the condition.
For example:
int x = 5;
int y = 10;
int z;
z = (x > y) ? x : y;
printf("The larger value is %d", z);
In this example, the ternary operator is used to compare the values of “x” and “y”. If “x” is greater than “y”, the value of “x” is assigned to “z”; otherwise, the value of “y” is assigned to “z”. In this case, the value of “z” will be 10, since “y” is greater than “x”.
The ternary operator is a useful tool for simplifying conditional statements and reducing the amount of code needed for simple comparisons. However, it should be used judiciously, as overly complex expressions can be difficult to read and understand.
