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Ternary Operator

Short if...else

The ternary operator condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse picks one of two values. It is an expression, so it returns a value you can store or print.

Example

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int stock = 0;
        String label = stock > 0 ? "In stock" : "Out of stock";
        System.out.println(label);

        int a = 14, b = 9;
        int bigger = a > b ? a : b;
        System.out.println("Bigger: " + bigger);

        int items = 1;
        System.out.println(items + (items == 1 ? " item" : " items"));
    }
}

Output

Out of stock
Bigger: 14
1 item

When to Use It

  • Good for choosing between two simple values.
  • Avoid nesting ternaries (a ? b : c ? d : e); use if/else instead.
  • Both result values must be compatible types.

Exercise: Using a ternary, store "Even" or "Odd" in String type for int n.

Show answer
String type = n % 2 == 0 ? "Even" : "Odd";