How to use ternary operator in cshtml page. (Razor View Engine)

Question

I am working with .cshtml pages. I want to show some html conditionally by getting value from Session variable. If i am using if else condition in cshtml pages it works, but i want to replace it with ternary operator.

Here is working Code: -

    @if (HttpContext.Current.Session["RequestCount"] != null)
     {
       if (HttpContext.Current.Session["RequestCount"].ToString() != "0")
          {
            <li class="nav-item"><a class="nav-link ripple" href="@Url.Action("Images", "Admin")"> <i class="icon-bell-ring" style="position:relative"><em>@HttpContext.Current.Session["RequestCount"].ToString() </em></i><span>Images Request</span> </a> </li> 
          }
       else
          {
            <li class="nav-item"><a class="nav-link ripple" href="@Url.Action("Images", "Admin")"> <i class="icon-bell-ring"></i> <span>Images Request</span> </a> </li>
          }
     }

Trying to use ternary operator : -

  <li class="nav-item"><a class="nav-link ripple" href="@Url.Action("Images","Admin")"> <i class="icon-bell-ring" style="position:relative">@HttpContext.Current.Session["RequestCount"].ToString) != "0" ?<em>@HttpContext.Current.Session["RequestCount"].ToString(): &nbsp; </em></i><span>Images Request</span> </a> </li>

First, what error are you getting? Second, It looks like you have an open `` tag in one branch of the ternary and the close in the second branch. Try formatting that line a little better and it might become obvious why it isn't working. Also, parenthesis might make it easier to indicate where the end of the ternary is supposed to be. — Becuzz, Aug 31 '18 at 12:59
Thanks @Becuzz, error is that it is not working conditionally, it shows both html. http://prntscr.com/kp3g0j — Gobind Gupta, Aug 31 '18 at 13:31

Becuzz · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-25T12:02:28.857

If you want to use the ternary operator, you need to do a couple of things.

Surround the whole thing with parenthesis. As you have it written, the ? gets interpreted as text, not an operator. So start with something like this:

@(myCondition ? "a" : "b")
Don't put opening tags inside the operator (unless you put the close one in as well). So move the em tags outside like this.

<em>@(/* ternary operator here */)</em>
Finally, make sure the return type is the same for both branches. In your example you are trying to return a regular string in one part (the HttpContext bit) and the second you are trying to return a non-breaking space (I assume you don't want the literal text   output to the page). So wrap them both in HtmlStrings.

So when it's all put together you get something like this (below is a sample Razor page in a .Net Core web app I tried this on, adapt to your needs):

@using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Html
@{
    bool isTrue = false;
}
<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>
<head>
    <title>title</title>
</head>
<body>
<div>
    <em>@(isTrue ? new HtmlString("hi") : new HtmlString("&nbsp;")) </em>
</div>
</body>
</html>

How to use ternary operator in cshtml page. (Razor View Engine)

1 Answers1