Avoiding Syntax Errors with the Conditional Operator in C#

I was having a strange bug in my code, everything looked right, but for some reason, it just wouldn’t work as expected. I had written a simple conditional statement using the ternary operator, but it kept throwing a syntax error. I scratched my head, wondering what could be causing the issue.

The code in question looked like this:

TextValue = "ID:" + Model.PCRCohortID + " | " + Model.PCRCohortID!=null?Model.PCRCohort.CohortDescriptor:"",

At first glance, everything seemed fine. I had used the ternary operator many times before, and it had always worked as expected. But for some reason, this particular instance was causing problems.

After some digging, I realized that the issue was due to the fact that I was missing parentheses around the conditional expression. The ternary operator needs to be enclosed in parentheses when used in a larger expression.

To fix the issue, I simply added parentheses around the conditional expression. The corrected code looked like this:

TextValue = "ID:" + Model.PCRCohortID + " | " + (Model.PCRCohortID!=null?Model.PCRCohort.CohortDescriptor:"")

By adding the parentheses, I was able to resolve the syntax error and get the code working as expected.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of attention to detail in programming. Even the smallest mistake can cause big problems, but with persistence and patience, we can always find a solution.

This article aims to provide a solution to the common issue of encountering syntax errors with the conditional operator in C#, and to help developers avoid similar issues in the future.