Possible Duplicate:
javascript ? : notation
what does the "?" operator mean?
+1
A:
It, along with : comprises the ternary operator and is a shortcut for returning one of two values (the second and third sub-expressions), based on the result of the condition (the first sub-expression).
Wikipedia gives a good description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%3F:#Javascript
It's used like this:
var result = (condition ? value_for_true : value_for_false);
Example:
var result = (1 > 0 ? "It is greater" : "It is less");
The above example stores "It is greater" in the variable result.
On its own, ? does nothing except cause a syntax error when used without :.
SimpleCoder
2010-09-20 00:19:31
@SimpleCoder - thanks, looked on google but it took the "?" to mean question.
Dirty Bird Design
2010-09-20 00:22:07
Sure. It's a common feature in many languages by the way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%3F. Not just JavaScript.
SimpleCoder
2010-09-20 00:23:01
+3
A:
it means an inline if
condition ? true_statement : false_statement
e.g
if(condition){
alert("true");
}else{
alert("false");
}
is the same as condition ? alert("true"): alert("false");
Nico
2010-09-20 00:19:35
For reference, the conditional operator's true and false parts should be values, not actions. I'd recommend `alert(condition ? "true" : "false")` instead -- though in this particular case, `alert(condition.toString())` may work as well. Either way, if you have to decide between two actions, use `if`/`else`; if you're deciding between two values, use `?:`
cHao
2010-09-20 00:28:47
I was just showing that it can work just as a regular if, though you are right, it can be used like return (condition ? "ok" : "nope");
Nico
2010-09-20 00:32:45
+1
A:
It's part of the ternary operator.
// This simple if
if (25 > 23) {
alert("yes");
} else {
alert("no");
}
// Is the same as
alert(25 > 23 ? "yes" : "no");
Rafael Belliard
2010-09-20 00:19:51
+1
A:
You probably mean the ?:, or ternary, operator. Since this has been covered multiple times before, I'll refer you to this thread for a full explanation.
deceze
2010-09-20 00:21:21
It's actually the [JS conditional operator](https://developer.mozilla.org/en/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Special_Operators/Conditional_Operator), which is the only ternary operator in JS.
Peter Ajtai
2010-09-20 00:37:14
Ya know, people are gonna get rather confused if there ever ends up being another ternary operator. They won't know what to call the existing one anymore.
cHao
2010-09-20 18:25:23