expanatoin of ths sentence

Hello! It's something similar to : if (int m1) = (a<b), then the result is (a), if not, the result is (b). Or, if the sentence (int m1=a<b) is TRUE, then the result is (a). If the sentence is FALSE, then the result is (b) The ? sign is to determine if the sentence is TRUE or FALSE. Have a nice day, Matildas

That's called ternary operator (google) and means smth like that:

int m1;
if (a < b)
    m1 = a;
else
    m1 = b;

It's an assignment operator. Means you need to assign values. It doesn't work for pure method calls.

Integer i = a < b ? Integer.valueOf(a) : Integer.valueOf(b); // OK
a < b ? Integer.valueOf(a) : Integer.valueOf(b); // not a statement
// so this won't work either
a < b ? System.out.println("a is smaller") : System.out.println("b is smaller"); // no