if/else statements can become lengthy even when you simply want to return a value depending on a Boolean expression. Fortunately, Java provides a shortcut that allows you to write if/else statements in a single line of code. It is called the ternary conditional statement.

The term ternary comes from a Latin word that means "composed of three parts".

These three parts are:

1. A Boolean expression
2. A single statement that gets executed if the Boolean expression is true
3. A single statement that gets executed if the Boolean expression is false

Here is an example of a ternary conditional statement:

int pointsScored = 21;

char gameResult = (pointsScored > 20) ? 'W' : 'L';
System.out.println(gameResult);

In the example above, the int variable called pointsScored is equal to 21.

The Boolean expression is (pointsScored > 20), which evaluates to true. This will return the value of 'W', which is assigned to the variable gameResult. The value 'W' is printed to the console.