What is the long version of "blocks[i][j].isColorBox() ? pieceColor : backgroundColor"?

Question

I've read this line of code: blocks[i][j].isColorBox() ? pieceColor : backgroundColor and I'm wondering what is its if statement counterpart. Or if it's really an if statement. I'm new in programming and I'm still learning the language. Thank you!

Answer 1

Something along these lines, if you're returning the color value at the end of a method:

if (blocks[i][j].isColorBox()) {
    return pieceColor;
} else {
    return backGroundColor;
}

Or if you're assigning the color value to a variable:

if (blocks[i][j].isColorBox()) {
    someVariable = pieceColor;
} else {
    someVariable = backGroundColor;
}

Either way, the "long" version of a conditional expression (a.k.a. ternary operator of the form ?:) would be to use an if/else and do something with the values. Notice that the fundamental difference between an if/else and a conditional expression is that the former is an statement without a value whereas the later is an expression which evaluates to the value of its operands.