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c#c++cternary

Is this a reasonable use of the ternary operator?

Are there any understanding / maintainability issues that result from code like

inVar1 == 0 ? NULL : v.push_back(inVar1);
inVar2 == 0 ? NULL : v.push_back(inVar2);

and so forth.

The possibly confusing idea is using the ternary operator for program flow rather than variable assignment, which is the usual explanation.

I haven't seen coding standards at work that address this usage, so while I'm comfortable doing this I'd like to find out if there is a good reason not to.

Solution

  • I think it's confusing and a lot harder to read than simply typing;

    if (inVar != 0)
  v.push_back(inVar);

    I had to scan your example several times to figure out what the result would be with any certainty. I'd even prefer a single-line if() {} statement than your example - and I hate single-line if statements :)