in reply to Ternary operators: a hinderance, not a help

I just use it when I find it is more readable. Sometimes I have things like
my $var = (
    $EXPR
    ? sprintf( '...', $x )
    : sprintf( '...', $y )
);

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which I find more readable than a 
my $var;
if ( $EXPR ) {
    $var = sprintf( '...', $x );
}
else {
    $var = sprintf( '...', $y );
}

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I think it gives the possibility to keep together what should stand together. I also often found, that those real life scenarios you speak of are simpler to solve with the ternary operator, than with fully written conditionals.

But in the end, it's surely a question of personal preference :)
Ordinary morality is for ordinary people. -- Aleister Crowley

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re^2: Ternary operators: a hinderance, not a help
by graff (Chancellor) on Aug 10, 2005 at 01:12 UTC
    For that matter, if the "..." is the same in your two conditions, I'd do it like this: 
    my $val = ( $EXPR ) ?  $x : $y;
my $var = sprintf( "...", $val );

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    OTOH, if the "..." is different in each case, I might take the trouble to put that into a hash... 
    my %format = ( $x => "... for x", $y => "... for y" );
my $val = ( $EXPR ) ?  $x : $y;
my $var = sprintf( $format{$val}, $val );

    [download]
    And I agree with you and with earlier replies: it's a matter of personal preference for those of us who feel a sense of "semantic unity" in certain conditional assignments.
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