CoffeeScript's ?
operator is the existence operator ("soak" or "elvis" names are also used).
exemple : context = window ? global
.
The CoffeeScript way of doing it is x = if x > z then 'a' else 'b'
(or x = x > z and 'a' or 'b'
, but the "and" operand must be truthy for this to work) which will compile down to the ternary operator you'd expect.