In simple terms, it works like an if statement. The ternary operator has three parts (hence the name!) that look like this:

condition ? expression1 : expression2
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The condition is evaluated. If it it true then expression1 is returned, otherwise expression2 is returned. Here's a simple example:

$max = $x > $y ? $x : $y;
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The condition $x > $y is evaluated. If this is true then the operator returns $x, otherwise it returns $y. This could also be done using if like this:

if ($x > $y) {
  $max = $x;
} else {
  $max = $y;
}
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But in this case I think that the ternary operator looks more readable.

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