Short-Circuit Evaluation

noun

say it: “SHORT SER-kit ih-val-yoo-AY-shun” /ʃɔːrt ˈsɜːrkɪt ɪˌvæljuˈeɪʃən/

The way && and || stop checking as soon as the left side already decides the answer.

What is Short-Circuit Evaluation in C#?

Short-Circuit Evaluation — && and || stop as soon as the left side settles the answer: with &&, a false left side means the right side never runs. Put the safety check first, as here, where it stops a divide by zero.

int gamesPlayed = 0;
int wins = 0;

if (gamesPlayed > 0 && (decimal)wins / gamesPlayed > 0.5m)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Winning record");
}
Console.WriteLine("No crash"); // No crash

In a sentence

• “Thanks to short-circuit evaluation, the division never ran when gamesPlayed was zero.”

Level: Apprentice · More C# terms at this level

Updated October 28, 2026