Here's something interesting I came across while learning control flow in C program; a shorter method for writing the If-else statements.

But, how's this possible?

It's done using the _Conditional Operator, which is also called the ternary operator.

The conditional operator is represented by the symbols "?" (question mark) and ":" (colon).

But how does this represent a decision making process in C? It's quite easy...

You might have been running away from the C program but it's such an interesting program you might want to reconsider.

Or is the term "low-level C" deceiving you? Or probably scared of pointers?

Let's dive deeper into this conditional operator.

Here's a basic syntax of how the ternary operator works...

variable = expression_1? expression_2 : expression_3;

Hint: Don't forget to add the semicolon at the end of the statement in C...

Let's continue to follow while i break down the syntax below:

The three above listed expressions are the operands, with expression1 containing the **__condition** while expression_2, expression_3 are the statements.

expression_1 is a boolean condition majorly containing the relational operators e.g (p > 3), >,<,>= ...

If expression_1 is true, then expression_2 gets executed...If expression_2 isn't executed, then expression_3 gets executed.

From the above explanation, you can easily deduce that expression_2 is the if statement that gets executed and expression_3 is the else statement.

I guess you're loving the C program now?

Here's an example to illustrate more on the conditional operator.

#include <stdio.h>

/*
 * author - Jiresimon 12/9/21
 * main - program checks if the variable p is greater or lesser.
 * return - 0
*/

int main(void){
    int p,q; //declaring the variables
    p = 8;

    //if-else statement 
    if p > 7
        q = 1;
    else
        q = 0;

    printf("The value of q is %i",q);

    return (0);
}

#Output

The value of q is 1

Here's how the conditional operator "?" & ":" eliminates those lines to keep it simple...

#include <stdio.h>

/*
 * author - Jiresimon 12/9/21
 * main - program checks if the variable p is greater or lesser.
 * return - 0
*/

int main(void){
    int p,q; //declaring the variables
    p = 8;

    q = p > 7? 1 : 0; //variable = expression_1? expression_2 : expression_3
    printf("The value of q is %i",q);

    return (0);
}

Another example to round up with this interesting topic...

#include <stdio.h>

int main(void){
    int score; //declaring the variable

    printf("Enter your exam score:\n>>> ");
    scanf("%i", &score); //take input from the user

    (score>=80)? printf("You had a distinction") : printf("Repeat the exam");

    return (0);
}

Enter your exam score:
>>> 90
You had a distinction

#Another input

Enter your exam score:
>>> 70
Repeat the exam

Conclusion

The conditional operator is a one-line if-else statement in C whereas the if-else statement is a block of statements. The conditional operator won't be able to work for multiple statements because only three operands are allowed; expression_1, expression_2, expression_3

The conditional operator should be used where necessary but doesn't completely replace the if-else block in C.