The Ternary Operator

Sometimes your code needs to pick between exactly two values. The ternary operator lets you make that choice in a single expression:

condition ? valueIfTrue : valueIfFalse

Apex evaluates the condition first. When the condition is true, the whole expression becomes the first value. When it is false, the expression becomes the second value.

An Expression, Not a Statement

An if/else statement performs actions, but it does not produce a value. The ternary operator is an expression: it produces a value that you can store in a variable or return from a method.

Integer temperature = 30;
String weather = temperature > 25 ? 'Hot' : 'Mild';
System.debug(weather); // Hot

Side by Side with if/else

These two blocks of code do exactly the same thing:

// Using if/else
String label;
if (temperature > 25) {
    label = 'Hot';
} else {
    label = 'Mild';
}

// Using the ternary operator
String label2 = temperature > 25 ? 'Hot' : 'Mild';

The ternary version expresses the same choice in one line.

When to Use It

Reach for the ternary operator when you have a simple two-way choice between two values. Avoid nesting one ternary inside another: nested ternaries are hard to read, and a plain if/else is much clearer in those cases.

// Hard to read - do not do this
String size = value > 100 ? 'Large' : value > 50 ? 'Medium' : 'Small';