Question

Subject - Computer
Language - Java
Topic - Ternary Operator
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Write a program to find the lowest in three numbers using ternary operator.
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Answer 1

$\textsf{\large{\underline{Solution}:}}$

The given problem is solved using language - Java.

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Lowest{

   public static void main(String args[]){

       Scanner sc=new Scanner(System.in);

       int a,b,c,min;

       System.out.print("Enter first number: ");

       a=sc.nextInt();

       System.out.print("Enter second number: ");

       b=sc.nextInt();

       System.out.print("Enter third number: ");

       c=sc.nextInt();

       sc.close();

       min=a < b ? a < c ? a : c : b < c ? b : c;

       System.out.println("Minimum: "+min);

   }

}

$\textsf{\large{\underline{Explanation}:}}$

At first, we will solve this using simple if-else statements. The co‎de goes here:

if(a < b) {  #block 1

   if(a < c)

       min=a;

   else

       min=c;

}

else{    #block 2

   if(b < c)

       min=b;

   else

           min=c;

}

Using ternary operator, we can check the same condition.

> min = (a < b) ? #block 1 : #block 2

Now, let us complete the block 1.

if(a < c)

   min=a;

else

   min=c;

---- OR ----

> min = a < c : a : c;

Similarly, for block 2, we get:

> min = b < c : b : c;

Combining both (1) and (2), we get:

> min=a < b ? a < c ? a : c :    b < c ? b : c;

             ↑ block 1                  ↑ block 2

In this way, the problem is solved.

See attachment for output.

Answer 2

Answer:

Before moving to the program, let's understand the ternary operator.

It is a part of the Java conditional statement. It contains three operands. It evaluates a Boolean expression and assigned a value based on the result. We can use it in place of the if-else statement. The syntax of the ternary operator is as follows:

variable_name = (expression) ? value if true:value if false

If the above expression returns true the value before the colon is assigned to the variable variable_name, else the value after the colon is assigned to the variable.

Let's use the ternary operator in a Java program to compare three variables.

In the following program, we have used two ternary operators to compare three numbers.

SmallestNumberExample1.java

import java.util.Scanner;

public class SmallestNumberExample1

{

public static void main(String[] args)

{

int a, b, c, smallest, temp;

//object of the Scanner class

Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);

//reading input from the user

System.out.println("Enter the first number:");

a = sc.nextInt();

System.out.println("Enter the second number:");

b = sc.nextInt();

System.out.println("Enter the third number:");

c = sc.nextInt();

//comparing a and b and storing the smallest number in a temp variable

temp=a<b?a:b;

//comparing the temp variable with c and storing the result in the variable names smallest

smallest=c<temp?c:temp;

//prints the smallest number

System.out.println("The smallest number is: "+smallest);

}

}

Output:

Enter the first number:

23

Enter the second number:

11

Enter the third number:

67

The smallest Number is: 11

We can also compare all the three numbers by using the ternary operator in a single statement. If we want to compare three numbers in a single statement, we should use the following statement:

d = c > (a>b ? a:b) ? c:((a>b) ? a:b);

In the following program, we have used a single statement to find the smallest of three numbers.