Not a statement. Why not?

Seshadri R :

When I attempted to compile the following Java program:

public class MyClass 
{
    static int f1() { return 10; }
    static int f2() { return 20; }

    public static void main(String args[])
    {
        int x = 10;
        (x <= 10) ? f1() : f2();
    }
}

I got the error:

/MyClass.java:9: error: not a statement
        (x <= 10) ? f1() : f2();
                  ^

Java language definition talks about statements as one of assignment, increment/decrement, method invocation or object creation. My erroneous "statement" involves method invocation and should, therefore work. In fact, if I have a single statement like:

f1();

the compiler compiles the program sans any whimper. Similarly, if I change the final line to:

int y = (x <= 10) ? f1() : f2();

then too, everything is hunky-dory.

As a final piece of info, neither C nor C++ bats an eyelid on:

 (x <= 10) ? f1() : f2();

Maurice Perry :

The ternary operator is used in expressions. For statements, you can use an if statement. That's how the syntax is defined. Period.

Not a statement. Why not?

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