People definitely differ on the "easier to read" part. I find the 4 line if statement version more difficult to read in most cases. When things get long, my fav

People definitely differ on the "easier to read" part. I find the 4 line if statement version more difficult to read in most cases. When things get long, my favorite formatting for a c-style ternary is: my_variable = (my_very_long_condition) ? value_if_my_condition_is_true : value_if_my_condition_is_false; This is 3 lines, but there is almost no noise, just the condition and alternate values. Also, the variable is never assigned a dummy value (or left unassigned).