Ternary operator in PHP - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Ternary operator

Evaluate condition

Yes↓

Use value if true

↓

Result

No↓

Use value if false

↓

Result

The ternary operator checks a condition and returns one value if true, another if false.

Execution Sample

PHP

<?php
$age = 20;
$status = ($age >= 18) ? 'Adult' : 'Minor';
echo $status;
?>

This code checks if age is 18 or more, then sets status to 'Adult' or 'Minor' accordingly.

Execution Table

Step	Condition	Condition Result	Value if True	Value if False	Result assigned to $status
1	$age >= 18	20 >= 18 is True	'Adult'	'Minor'	'Adult'
2	End of expression	-	-	-	Execution stops

💡 Condition is true, so 'Adult' is assigned to $status and execution ends.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	Final
$age	20	20	20
$status	undefined	'Adult'	'Adult'

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does $status get 'Adult' and not 'Minor'?

Because the condition $age >= 18 is true at step 1 in the execution_table, so the true value 'Adult' is chosen.

What if $age was 16? What would happen?

If $age was 16, the condition would be false, so the false value 'Minor' would be assigned to $status instead.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the value of $status after step 1?

A 20

B 'Minor'

C 'Adult'

D undefined

💡 Hint

Check the 'Result assigned to $status' column in row 1 of execution_table.

At which step does the ternary operator decide the value of $status?

A Step 2

B Step 1

C Before Step 1

D After Step 2

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Condition Result' and 'Result assigned to $status' columns in execution_table.

If $age was 15, what would be the result assigned to $status?

A 'Minor'

B 15

C 'Adult'

D undefined

💡 Hint

Think about the condition $age >= 18 and what happens if it is false.

Concept Snapshot

Ternary operator syntax: (condition) ? value_if_true : value_if_false;
It evaluates the condition once.
Returns value_if_true if condition is true.
Returns value_if_false if condition is false.
Useful for simple if-else in one line.

Full Transcript

The ternary operator in PHP is a shortcut for if-else. It checks a condition and returns one value if true, another if false. In the example, we check if $age is 18 or more. Since $age is 20, the condition is true, so $status is set to 'Adult'. If $age was less than 18, $status would be 'Minor'. This operator helps write simple decisions in one line.