JavaScript Ternary Operator - Shortcut to the If Statement

Posted on Jan 17, 2018 (last modified May 7, 2021)

The conditional (ternary) operator is the only JavaScript operator that takes three operands and it is frequently used as a shortcut for the if statement.

// If isMember (first argument) evaluates to true, return "$2:00" (first expression), // else return "$10.00" (second expression) function getFee(isMember) { return (isMember ? "$2.00" : "$10.00"); } // Another example // var foo = (a === b) ? 1 : 2; var foo = (a === b) ? 1 : 2;

See also: Conditional (ternary) Operator, MDN web docs