In this article, you’ll learn how to use the ternary operator in Python. The ternary operator in Python is simply a shorter way of writing an if and if…else statement. We’ll see its syntax along with some practical examples.
Python Ternary Operator and its Benefits
The Python ternary operator determines if a condition is true or false and then returns the appropriate value in accordance with the result. The ternary operator is useful in cases where we need to assign a value to a variable based on a simple condition, and we want to keep our code more concise — all in just one line of code. It’s particularly handy when you want to avoid writing multiple lines for a simple if-else situation.
Syntax of Ternary Operator in Python
Syntax: [on_true] if [expression] else [on_false]
expression: conditional_expression | lambda_expr
Simple Method to Use Ternary Operator
In this example, we are comparing and finding the minimum number by using the ternary operator. The expression min is used to print a or b based on the given condition. For example, if a is less than b then the output is a, if a is not less than b then the output is b.
Python3
# Program to demonstrate conditional operatora, b = 10, 20# Copy value of a in min if a < b else copy bmin = a if a < b else bprint(min) |
10
Ternary Operator Examples
Here we will see the different example to use Python Ternary Operator:
- Ternary Operator in Python If-Else
- Python Ternary Operator using Tuples
- Python Ternary Operator using Dictionary
- Python Ternary Operator using Lambda
- Print in if Ternary Operator
- Limitations of Python Ternary Operator
Ternary Operator in Python If-Else
Example: Using Native way
Python program to demonstrate nested ternary operator. In this example, we have used simple if-else without using ternary operator.
Python3
a, b = 10, 20if a != b: if a > b: print("a is greater than b") else: print("b is greater than a")else: print("Both a and b are equal") |
b is greater than a
Example: Using Ternary Operator
In this example, we are using a nested if-else to demonstrate ternary operator. If a and b are equal then we will print a and b are equal and else if a>b then we will print a is greater than b otherwise b is greater than a.
Python3
# Python program to demonstrate nested ternary operatora, b = 10, 20print ("Both a and b are equal" if a == b else "a is greater than b" if a > b else "b is greater than a") |
b is greater than a
Python Ternary Operator using Tuples
In this example, we are using tuples to demonstrate ternary operator. We are using tuple for selecting an item and if [a<b] is true it return 1, so element with 1 index will print else if [a<b] is false it return 0, so element with 0 index will print.
Python3
# Python program to demonstrate ternary operatora, b = 10, 20print( (b, a) [a < b] ) |
Output:
10
Python Ternary Operator using Dictionary
In this example, we are using Dictionary to demonstrate ternary operator. We are using tuple for selecting an item and if [a<b] is true it return 1, so element with 1 index will print else if [a<b] is false it return 0, so element with 0 index will print.
Python3
# Python program to demonstrate ternary operatora, b = 10, 20print({True: a, False: b} [a < b]) |
10
Python Ternary Operator using Lambda
In this example, we are using Lambda to demonstrate ternary operator. We are using tuple for selecting an item and if [a<b] is true it return 1, so element with 1 index will print else if [a<b] is false it return 0, so element with 0 index will print.
Python3
# Python program to demonstrate ternary operatora, b = 10, 20print((lambda: b, lambda: a)[a < b]()) |
10
Print in if Ternary Operator
In this example, we are finding the larger number among two numbers using ternary operator in python3.
Python3
a=5b=7# [statement_on_True] if [condition] else [statement_on_false]print(a,"is greater") if (a>b) else print(b,"is Greater") |
7 is Greater
Limitations of Python Ternary Operator
Python ternary is used to write concise conditional statements but it too have some limitations.
- Readability: Ternary operator can make simple conditional expressions more concise, it can also reduce the readability of your code, especially if the condition and the expressions are complex.
- Potential for Error: Incorrect placement of parentheses, missing colons, or incorrect order of expressions can lead to syntax errors that might be harder to spot.
- Debugging: When debugging, it might be harder to inspect the values of variables involved in a complex ternary expression.
- Maintenance and Extensibility: Complex ternary expressions might become harder to maintain and extend especially when the codebase grows.
- Can’t use assignment statements: Each operand of the Python ternary operator is an expression, not a statement, that means we can’t use assignment statements inside any of them. Otherwise, the program will throw an error.
Example:
Python3
3 if True else x=6 |
Output:
File "Solution.py", line 1
3 if True else x=6
^
SyntaxError: can't assign to conditional expression
