What is the correct form of the ternary conditional operator?

• A. if (condition) { exprIfTrue; } else { exprIfFalse; }
• B. condition ? exprIfTrue : exprIfFalse
• C. condition ? exprIfTrue ?? exprIfFalse
• D. condition : exprIfTrue ? exprIfFalse

Answer: (B)

The ternary conditional operator is a concise way to pick between two expressions based on a condition. Its form is: condition ? exprIfTrue : exprIfFalse. After the condition is evaluated, if it’s true the first expression is used; otherwise the second expression is used. This lets you produce a value in a single expression, for example: int z = (x > y) ? x : y;.

The other forms don’t fit because they don’t follow this expression-based pattern. The first option is an if-else block with braces, which performs statements rather than returning a value in a single expression. The third option uses a null-coalescing operator (often written with two question marks) that serves a different purpose. The fourth option misplaces the colon and question mark, making it invalid syntax for the ternary operator.