Elvis operator : Java Glossary

Groovy has the ?: operator called the Elvis operator because it looks a bit like Elvis Presley’s hair. Java does not support it. It is helpful in dealing with values that might be null. It is a shorcut for a common piece of code to deal with null values. If the Elvis operator were introduced to Java:

// Instead of writing:
val = something != null ? something : defaultValue;

// you would write:  
val = something ?: defaultValue;