C Program to Find Largest of Two Numbers using Ternary Operator

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1. Introduction

Comparison operations are fundamental in computer programming. One common operation is determining the larger of two numbers. In this guide, we'll create a C program that finds the larger of two numbers, leveraging the concise ternary operator.

2. Program Overview

Our program will:

1. Prompt the user to input two numbers.

2. Utilize the ternary operator to establish which number is larger.

3. Display the result to the user.

3. Code Program

#include <stdio.h>  // Incorporate the Standard I/O library

int main() {  // Initiate the program

    int num1, num2;  // Declare two integer variables

    // Prompt the user for two numbers
    printf("Enter first number: ");
    scanf("%d", &num1);  // Store the first number
    printf("Enter second number: ");
    scanf("%d", &num2);  // Store the second number

    // Use the ternary operator to determine the larger number and display the result
    int largest = (num1 > num2) ? num1 : num2;
    printf("The largest number is: %d\n", largest);

    return 0;  // Conclude the program
}

Output:

Enter first number: 45
Enter second number: 89
The largest number is: 89

4. Step By Step Explanation

1. #include <stdio.h>: This line imports the standard input and output library for our program.

2. int main(): The primary function that marks the commencement of our program.

3. Variable Declaration:

- num1 and num2: Variables to keep the two numbers inputted by the user.

4. User Input:

- We solicit two numbers from the user.

- Using the scanf function, we capture and store these numbers in num1 and num2 respectively.

5. Ternary Operator:

- The ternary operator is a shorthand for the if-else condition and has the format: (condition) ? (value_if_true) : (value_if_false).

- In our case, (num1 > num2) ? num1 : num2 checks if num1 is greater than num2. If true, num1 is assigned to the largest; otherwise, num2 is assigned.

6. Display the Result: We then inform the user which number is the largest.

The ternary operator provides a succinct and effective way to carry out conditional assignments, making our code cleaner and more readable.