What, are you insinuating that asking about great big if-then-else trees means you'd never hire that person? Because, what, you've never been a complete novice programmer before?
Considering the question-asker has a specific problem to solve, I would even hazard they probably aren't a programmer by trade.
... a very good sign that they're still too green.
When did HN become so touchy-freely? It's important that people start learning somewhere. If you show any interest in programming, I highly recommend learning more. However, there comes a time when you must have a certain amount of experience. This is a profession where important things are made. Even people who should know better end up building systems that leak our sensitive personal information, or let others impersonate us.
I didn't say that such a person shouldn't be hired, but I certainly implied that the original question is a better indicator of their capability than the always positive keyword soup and "years experience" that many people slather on their résumé.
If "avoiding IF-THEN spaghetti" is all you require from contributors, fine. Let's not pretend that this is better than an early high school effort.
Considering the question-asker has a specific problem to solve, I would even hazard they probably aren't a programmer by trade.
So why would someone hire them to be a programmer? And yet, unlike other skilled professions, rank amateurs often present themselves as competent programmers. It would be valuable to include evidence to the contrary with résumés.
you've never been a complete novice programmer before?
I certainly wasn't hired when I was. What kind of ridiculous statement is this?
The poster is asking the wrong question. They are asking about how to manage incidental complexity, when they should be asking how to avoid inherent complexity. Incidentally complex code is the worst possible code to maintain, and you'll thank yourself for not letting contributors commit it.
So you rather hire somebody who has the same problem but has too much pride to ask somebody for help? Seriously, if all the questions everybody asked ever were on their resume, nobody would ever be able to get a job. At least this individual recognized that there was something wrong and sought out how to fix the problem from people with more experience then them.
Meh, put a date on it. If you asked this even a couple of years ago, fine. If you asked this last month, I have a pretty good feel for where you're at. You should also learn from your questions, which would make a great interview conversation.
I've littered the net with my share of dumb questions, and I have no regrets.
The idea of things on resumes shouldn't be to make hire/no-hire decisions (well, unless your job is to bin all the incoming resumes written in crayon..). Talking about this situation during an interview may provide insight though.
