If-Else Absolute Value

An if statement can be used to compute absolute value:

if ( value < 0 )
  abs = -value;
else
  abs = value;

This is awkward for such a simple idea. The following does the same thing in one statement:

abs = (value < 0 ) ? -value : value ;

This statement uses a conditional operator. The right side of the = is a conditional expression. The expression is evalutated to produce a value, which is then assigned to the variable, abs.

true-or-false-condition ? value-if-true : value-if-false

It works like this:

1. The conditional expression evaluates to a single value.
2. That value will be one of two choices:
   • If the true-or-false-condition is true, then use the expression between ? and :
   • If the true-or-false-condition is false, then use the expression between : and the end .

Here is how it works with the above example:

double value = -34.569;
double abs;

abs = (value < 0 )   ?   -value : value ;
      -------------       ------
      1. condition         2.  this is evaluated,
         is true               to +34.569
                      
----
3.  The +34.569 is assigned to abs

The conditional expression is a type of expression--that is, it asks for a value to be computed but does not by itself change any variable. In the above example, the variable value is not changed.

int a = 7, b = 21;

a > b ? a : b