if then else vs the ternary operator ( ? :) in c#

Question

this.value1 and c.value1 can both be either null or non-null. So a total of 4 combinations to test. value2 can also be null or non-null.

Can the if-then-else's below be replaced by something shorter like use the ternary operator ( if then else using the ? : operators) - and would that be a bad practice for this specific case because we are testing 4 combinations for value1 and value2?

     public override bool Equals(object obj)
     {
        bool value1_check = false;
        bool value2_check = false;
        var c = obj as ObjectType;

        if (this.value1 != null)
               value1_check = this.value1.Equals(c.value1);
        else if ((this.value1 == null) && (c.value1 == null))
               value1_check = true;
        else if ((this.value1 == null) && (c.value1 != null))
              value1_check = c.value1.Equals(this.value1);

        if (this.value2 != null)
               value2_check = this.value2.Equals(c.value2);
        else if ((this.value2 == null) && (c.value2 == null))
               value2_check = true;
        else if ((this.value2 == null) && (c.value2 != null))
              value2_check = c.value2.Equals(this.value2);

        return (value1_check && value2_check);
     }

Answer 1

You can call Object.Equals(), which already does all that.

return Equals(this.Value1, c.Value1)
    && Equals(this.Value2, c.Value2);