else on the same line - howto

[Helmut Jarausch]

Caleb Land wrote:
> Helmut Jarausch <jarausch at remove.igpm.rwth-aachen.de> wrote in message news:<bmj859$iph$1 at nets3.rz.RWTH-Aachen.DE>...
> 
>>Sorry for this trivial question
>>
>>Since Python lacks conditional expression
>>
>>like
>>
>>k+= (dy >= 0 ? 1 : -1)
>>
>>I would like to write
>>if  dy >= 0 : k+= 1; else: k-= 1
>>
>>instead of
>>if  dy >= 0 :  k+= 1
>>else        :  k-= 1
>>
>>but I don't know the exact syntax for writing
>>the 'else' clause onto the same line.
> 
> 
> If you really want such a thing you could make a generic function that
> would replace ?:
> 
> def iif(cond, t, f):
>     if cond:
>         return t
>     else:
>         return f
> 
> k += iif(dy >= 0, 1, -1)

Thanks to all who have replied. It's amazing how many different 
solutions are possible in Python.
Among all such a solution by a function is most readable (to me)
and I can well imagine such a function a builtin.
I have been teaching course in C++ to beginners and made the experience
that well chosen conditional expression are not obscure.
One can misuse any feature of a language to write obscure code.
Especially for the expression of a 'return' statement a conditional
expression might be a good idea.

Helmut.

---
Helmut Jarausch
RWTH-Aachen University
Germany