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I am trying to use the conditional operator, but I am getting hung up on the type it thinks the result should be. Below is an example that I have contrived to show the issue I am having: class Program { public static void OutputDateTime(DateTime? datetime) { Console.WriteLine(datetime); } public static bool IsDateTimeHappy(DateTime datetime) { if (DateTime.Compare(datetime, DateTime.Parse("1/1")) == 0) return true; return false; } static void Main(string[] args) { DateTime myDateTime = DateTime.Now; OutputDateTime(IsDateTimeHappy(myDateTime) ? null : myDateTime); Console.ReadLine(); ^ } | } | // This line has the compile issue ---------------+ On the line indicated above, I get the following compile error: Type of conditional expression cannot be determined because there is no implicit conversion between '< null >' and 'System.DateTime' I am confused because the parameter is a nullable type (DateTime?). Why does it need to convert at all? If it is null then use that, if it is a date time then use that. I was under the impression that: condition ? first_expression : second_expression; was the same as: if (condition) first_expression; else second_expression; Clearly this is not the case. What is the reasoning behind this? (NOTE: I know that if I make "myDateTime" a nullable DateTime then it will work. But why does it need it? As I stated earlier this is a contrived example. In my real example "myDateTime" is a data mapped value that cannot be made nullable.)

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