Basic JavaScript: Use the Conditional (Ternary) Operator

The conditional operator, also called the ternary operator, can be used as a one line if-else expression.

The syntax is:

condition ? statement-if-true : statement-if-false;

The following function uses an if-else statement to check a condition:

function findGreater(a, b) {

if(a > b) {

return "a is greater";

}

else {

return "b is greater";

}

}

This can be re-written using the conditional operator:

function findGreater(a, b) {

return a > b ? "a is greater" : "b is greater";

}

Use Multiple Conditional (Ternary) Operators

In the previous challenge, you used a single conditional operator. You can also chain them together to check for multiple conditions.

The following function uses if, else if, and else statements to check multiple conditions:

function findGreaterOrEqual(a, b) {

if (a === b) {

return "a and b are equal";

}

else if (a > b) {

return "a is greater";

}

else {

return "b is greater";

}

}

The above function can be re-written using multiple conditional operators:

function findGreaterOrEqual(a, b) {

return (a === b) ? "a and b are equal"

: (a > b) ? "a is greater"

: "b is greater";

}

However, this should be used with care as using multiple conditional operators without proper indentation may make your code hard to read. For example:

function findGreaterOrEqual(a, b) {

return (a === b) ? "a and b are equal" : (a > b) ? "a is greater" : "b is greater";

}