View source for User:NecroBumpist/Tutorials/Ternary Operator

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Ternary operators are a quick and useful way to conditionally controll expressions without creating an entire [[Conditional_statements#If|if statement]].

==Expressions==
Expressions are pieces of code that evaluate to one final value.

 local x = 5 + 3        <font color="green">-- '5 + 3' is an expression</font>

==Basic Usage==
It's easiest to show the usage of ternary operators by example.

'''NOTE:''' [[nil]] will evaluate to ''false'' logically in ternary operators, but will be returned as nil for future use.<br/>
'''CONT.''' Other values like numbers, strings, tables, etc will evaluate true logically, but will be returned as their original value for future use.

 print(true and 3); <font color="green">--> 3 (because the 1st value was true, it returns the 2nd)</font>
 print(false and 3); <font color="green">--> false (because the 1st value was false, it is returned)</font>
 
 print(true or 'cool'); <font color="green">--> true (because the 1st value was true, it is returned)</font>
 print(false or 'cool'); <font color="green">--> 'cool' (because the 1st value was false, the second is returned)</font>
 

==Practical Uses==
===Standard Function Inputs===
 function test(input)
     input = input or 'Default';
     print(input);
 end
 
 test(); <font color="green">--> 'Default'</font>
 test('Not Default'); <font color="green">--> 'Not Default'</font>