Set default value of a variable in PHP

Question

Is there a summarised way to write this code

if(y) {x=y;} else {x="default"}

I tried

$x=$y||"default"

but it fails.

Answer 1

Use the PHP ternary operator, like so:

$x = $y ?: "default";

If you are using PHP < 5.3, you'll need to use the full ternary form like so:

$x = $y ? $y : "default";