$x=a if (condition) then $x=b If you think of programs as logic then I see the lines above as a logical expression written in CNF conjunctive normal form

$x=a if (condition) then $x=b If you think of programs as logic then I see the lines above as a logical expression written in CNF conjunctive normal form, where each line is a clause. whereas this... $x = condition ? b : a; ...is like a nested logical expression. And breaking the program down into clauses makes it easier to understand, for humans and computers.