Python If Else shorthand with examples

Have you ever wondered if you can write if else statements in the same line like a ternary operator: x=a>10?"greater":"not greater" in Python?

In this article, we will see how to write Shorthands for if else statements in Python.

Simple if condition

We can write a simple if condition in Python as shown below:

1x = 10
2if x > 5:
3  print("greater than 5")

There are no shorthands for simple if statements.

If else statements

Consider the following if else statement:

1x = 10
2if x%2 == 0:
3  print("Even")
4else:
5  print("Odd")

We can shorten it as shown below:

1x = 10
2print("Even") if x%2 == 0 else print("Odd")

The syntax here is

action_if_true if condition else action_if_false

You can assign the result to a variable as well:

1age = 20
2status = "adult" if age >= 18 else "minor"
3print(status)

Else if ladder

In Python you can write an else-if ladder as shown below:

1x = 10
2if x > 5:
3  print("greater than 5")
4elif x==5:
5  print("equal to 5")
6else:
7  print("less than 5")

The shorthand for the else-if ladder would be:

1x=4
2print("greater than 5") if x > 5 else  print("equal to 5") if x==5 else print("less than 5")

Using tuples as a ternary operator

Python has the following syntax to assign the boolean value of the result. However, this is a confusing syntax and is not used widely.

1x = 5
2is_five = (False, True)[x == 5]
3print(is_five)

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