UnnecessaryTernaryExpression.md

Pattern: Unnecessary ternary expression

Issue: -

Description

Checks for ternary expressions where the conditional expression always evaluates to a boolean and the true and false expressions are merely returning true and false constants. These cases can be replaced by a simple boolean expression. Examples of violations include:

x==99 ? true : false                    // can be replaced by: x==99
x && y ? true : false                   // can be replaced by: x && y
x||y ? false : true                     // can be replaced by: !(x||y)
x >= 1 ? true: false                    // can be replaced by: x >= 1
x < 99 ? Boolean.TRUE : Boolean.FALSE   // can be replaced by: x < 99
!x ? true : false                       // can be replaced by: !x

The rule also checks for ternary expressions where the true and false expressions are the same constant or variable. Examples include:

x ? '123' : '123'              // can be replaced by: '123'
x ? null : null                // can be replaced by: null
x ? 23 : 23                    // can be replaced by: 23
x ? MAX_VALUE : MAX_VALUE      // can be replaced by: MAX_VALUE
ready ? minValue : minValue    // can be replaced by: minValue

Further Reading

• CodeNarc - UnnecessaryTernaryExpression