Does PHP 5.3\'s ?: Operator Simplify Conditional Statements?

Deciphering the Mystery of PHP 5.3's ?: Operator

PHP 5.3 introduced several notable features, one of which is the enigmatic ?: operator. Here's an in-depth exploration of what it entails.

Understanding the ?: Operator

The ?: operator is a simplified version of the traditional conditional operator:

<code class="PHP">expr ? val_if_true : val_if_false</code>

In PHP 5.3, it became possible to omit the middle part of this expression:

<code class="PHP">expr ?: val_if_false</code>

This is equivalent to:

<code class="PHP">expr ? expr : val_if_false</code>

Therefore, the ?: operator evaluates to the first expression (expr) if it evaluates to TRUE; otherwise, it evaluates to the second expression (val_if_false).

Twitto's Example Usage

In the Twitto example, the ?: operator is employed to assign a default value to a variable ($c) that may or may not have been set previously. If the variable is not set, the anonymous function is returned instead.

Anonymous Functions in PHP 5.3

PHP 5.3 introduced anonymous functions, which are lambdas or function literals that can be declared inline. These functions don't require a name and are usually defined using the following syntax:

<code class="PHP">function() {
  // Function body
}</code>

They can be assigned to variables, passed as arguments to other functions, or used as closures.

The above is the detailed content of Does PHP 5.3\'s ?: Operator Simplify Conditional Statements?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!