Is the ternary operator faster than an "if" condition in Java

Question

I am prone to "if-conditional syndrome" which means I tend to use if conditions all the time. I rarely ever use the ternary operator. For instance:

//I like to do this:
int a;
if (i == 0)
{
    a = 10;
}
else
{
    a = 5;
}

//When I could do this:
int a = (i == 0) ? 10:5;

Does it matter which I use? Which is faster? Are there any notable performance differences? Is it a better practice to use the shortest code whenever possible?

Answer 1

Does it matter which I use?

Yes! The second is vastly more readable. You are trading one line which concisely expresses what you want against nine lines of effectively clutter.

Which is faster?

Neither.

Is it a better practice to use the shortest code whenever possible?

Not “whenever possible” but certainly whenever possible without detriment effects. Shorter code is at least potentially more readable since it focuses on the relevant part rather than on incidental effects (“boilerplate code”).