Cleanest way to toggle a boolean variable in Java?

Question

Is there a better way to negate a boolean in Java than a simple if-else?

if (theBoolean) {
    theBoolean = false;
} else {
    theBoolean = true;
}
<         


        

Answer 1

There are several

The "obvious" way (for most people)

theBoolean = !theBoolean;

The "shortest" way (most of the time)

theBoolean ^= true;

The "most visual" way (most uncertainly)

theBoolean = theBoolean ? false : true;

Extra: Toggle and use in a method call

theMethod( theBoolean ^= true );

Since the assignment operator always returns what has been assigned, this will toggle the value via the bitwise operator, and then return the newly assigned value to be used in the method call.

Answer 2

theBoolean = !theBoolean;

Answer 3

If you're not doing anything particularly professional you can always use a Util class. Ex, a util class from a project for a class.

public class Util {


public Util() {}
public boolean flip(boolean bool) { return !bool; }
public void sop(String str) { System.out.println(str); }

}

then just create a Util object Util u = new Util(); and have something for the return System.out.println( u.flip(bool) );

If you're gonna end up using the same thing over and over, use a method, and especially if it's across projects, make a Util class. Dunno what the industry standard is however. (Experienced programmers feel free to correct me)