Explanation of a condition

Question

Can anyone please explain me this part of a code:

int ret = leftIndex > middleIndex - 1?leftIndex:middleIndex - 1;

I have not seen such a combination yet or putting a condition into integer variable in this way.

Thank you.

It means if left index greater than middle index minus one, take left index else take middle index minus one. — Austin, Sep 30 '18 at 14:38
@haccks: The C Standard in fact calls it the ["Conditional Operator"](http://port70.net/~nsz/c/c11/n1570.html#6.5.15). — alk, Sep 30 '18 at 14:43

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 30 '18 at 14:42

0

The ?: is called a Tertiary Operator. It takes the form:

condition ? true_result : false_result

Which translates to:

if(condition){
    true_result;
} else {
    false_result;
}

Your line of code translates into this:

if(leftIndex > middleIndex - 1){
    int ret = leftIndex;
} else {
    int ret = middleIndex - 1;
}

answered Sep 30 '18 at 14:42

brenden

"*Your line of code translates into this*" not quiet right. The definition of `ret` should be before the `if`-clause. – alk Sep 30 '18 at 14:46

1 Answers1