Conditional (Ternary) Operator (?:) (Windows Scripting - JScript)

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Returns one of two expressions depending on a condition.

Syntax

test ? expression1 : expression2

Arguments

  • test
    Any Boolean expression.

  • expression1
    An expression returned if test is true. May be a comma expression.

  • expression2
    An expression returned if test is false. May be a comma expression.

Remarks

The ?: operator can be used as a shortcut for an if...else statement. It is typically used as part of a larger expression where an if...else statement would be awkward. For example:

var now = new Date();
var greeting = "Good" + ((now.getHours() > 17) ? " evening." : " day.");

The example creates a string containing "Good evening." if it is after 6pm. The equivalent code using an if...else statement would look as follows:

var now = new Date();
var greeting = "Good";
if (now.getHours() > 17)
   greeting += " evening.";
else
   greeting += " day.";

Requirements

Version 1

See Also

if...else Statement (Windows Scripting - JScript)
Operator Precedence (Windows Scripting - JScript)
Operator Summary (Windows Scripting - JScript)