PHP ternary operator Examples
PHP inherits the ternary operator you might know from C, Java, Javascript or Perl.
Syntax
<condition> ? <value on true> : <value on false>
Examples
Set variable $query with HTTP GET parameter q or to default if parameter is missing.
$query = isset($_GET['q'])?$_GET['q']:'default';
Multiple defaults: the first non-false value is returned
$result = $input1 ?: $input2 ?: $input3
Use Cases
Why would you want to use the ternary operator?
- Non-disruptive editing of existing code
- Shorter than an equivalent if condition (1 instead of 5 lines)
- If you want to output the result of the condition in 1 output method invocation
- To use a list of variables as defaults for a result