When Conditional Logic Silences Critical Signals TL;DR: Skipping status reports in conditional branches causes silent delays and race conditions. Problems 😔 User delays
Poor Experience
Unpredictable timeouts
Incomplete initialization
Hidden dependencies
Policy mismanagement
Silent failures
Backward compatibility breaks Solutions 😃 Validate all code paths
Use default reporting mechanisms
Test edge cases rigorously
Refactor policy checks early
Make Performance tests
Move reports outside conditionals Context 💬 When you add conditional logic (e.g., group policies) to initialization code, skipping critical steps like readiness reports causes system-wide delays. Edge cases are exceptional conditions that occur outside normal operating parameters. When you don't properly handle these edge cases, your code can behave unpredictably. This Microsoft blog post highlights a classic example where missing edge case handling caused Windows 7 to have slower login times when users chose a solid color background instead of a wallpaper image. The code responsible for loading desktop wallpapers reported "ready" only when it successfully loaded a wallpaper image. But when users selected a solid color background (an edge case), this code path never triggered the "ready" notification. As a result, the system waited the full 30-second timeout before proceeding with the login sequence. This issue shows how missing a seemingly small edge case can significantly impact user experience. What should have been a 5-second login process became a frustrating 30-second delay for users who chose a simple configuration option. Multiply this innocent 30-second delay by every user who had the version. What a waste of human time! Good software design requires you to consider all possible paths through your code, not just the common ones. When you skip handling edge cases, you create technical debt that manifests as mysterious performance issues, timeouts, and poor user experiences. Sample Code 📖 Wrong ❌ public static class WallpaperInitializer
{
    private static bool wallpaperWasDefined = false;

    public static void InitializeWallpaper()
    {
        if (wallpaperWasDefined)
        // Assume this was defined previously
        // and PLEASE DON'T use NULLs in case you hadn't    
        {
            LoadWallpaperBitmap();
            Report(WallpaperReady); // Missed if wallpaper is undefined
        }
       // No default report, causing delays
    }

    private static void LoadWallpaperBitmap()
    {
        
    }

    private static void Report(string status)
    {
        // The Asynchronous loading keeps on
    }
} Right 👉 public static class WallpaperInitializer
{
    private static bool wallpaperWasDefined = false;

    public static void InitializeWallpaper()
    {
        if (wallpaperWasDefined)
        {
            LoadWallpaperBitmap();
        }
        Report(WallpaperReady); 
        // Always report, regardless of condition
    }

    private static void LoadWallpaperBitmap()
    {
    
    }
} Detection 🔍 [x]Semi-Automatic Use static analysis tools to flag conditionals that guard critical reporting calls. Code reviews should verify that all initialization paths signal completion. Tags 🏷️ Performance Level 🔋 [x]Intermediate Why the Bijection Is Important 🗺️ The system’s real-world behavior (e.g., logon speed) depends on accurate modeling of readiness states. Software should maintain a one-to-one correspondence between real-world states and program states. When users select a solid color background in Windows, that choice represents a valid real-world state. (My personal choice also back then) The program must correctly model this choice with a corresponding program state that behaves properly. When you break this bijection by failing to handle edge cases, you introduce disconnects between user expectations and system behavior. In this example, users expected their choice of a solid color background to work normally, but instead, they experienced mysterious delays. The missing bijection creates cognitive dissonance: "I made a simple choice, why is my computer behaving strangely?" This disconnect damages user trust and satisfaction. Each broken bijection introduces a crack in the system's reliability model, making it increasingly unpredictable over time. Breaking this link causes mismatches between user expectations and software execution, leading to unpredictable delays and MAPPER to real-world violations. AI Generation 🤖 AI generators can create this smell by naively wrapping legacy code in conditionals without validating all paths. AI Detection 🥃 Prompt AI to "ensure status reports execute in all branches," and it will flag or fix this smell by moving Report() outside conditionals. Try Them! 🛠 Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Suggested Prompt: find missing else reports Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Conclusion 🏁 Always signal completion unconditionally in initialization code. Conditional logic should modify behavior, not silence critical reporting steps. Relations 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxxii https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxxx https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xviii More Information 📕 https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20250428-00/?p=111121&embedable=true https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/the-welcome-screen-may-be-displayed-for-30-seconds-during-the-logon-process-after-you-set-a-solid-color-as-the-desktop-background-in-windows-7-or-in-windows-server-2008-r2-b4565ced-703a-cc85-bf9c-6b3d586d6421?embedable=true Disclaimer 📘 Code Smells are my opinion. Testing leads to failure, and failure leads to understanding. Burt Rutan https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true When Conditional Logic Silences Critical Signals When Conditional Logic Silences Critical Signals TL;DR: Skipping status reports in conditional branches causes silent delays and race conditions. TL;DR: Skipping status reports in conditional branches causes silent delays and race conditions. Problems 😔 User delays Poor Experience Unpredictable timeouts Incomplete initialization Hidden dependencies Policy mismanagement Silent failures Backward compatibility breaks User delays Poor Experience Unpredictable timeouts Incomplete initialization Hidden dependencies Policy mismanagement Silent failures Backward compatibility breaks Solutions 😃 Validate all code paths Use default reporting mechanisms Test edge cases rigorously Refactor policy checks early Make Performance tests Move reports outside conditionals Validate all code paths Use default reporting mechanisms Test edge cases rigorously Refactor policy checks early Make Performance tests Move reports outside conditionals Context 💬 When you add conditional logic (e.g., group policies) to initialization code, skipping critical steps like readiness reports causes system-wide delays. Edge cases are exceptional conditions that occur outside normal operating parameters. When you don't properly handle these edge cases, your code can behave unpredictably. This Microsoft blog post highlights a classic example where missing edge case handling caused Windows 7 to have slower login times when users chose a solid color background instead of a wallpaper image . Microsoft blog post caused Windows 7 to have slower login times when users chose a solid color background instead of a wallpaper image The code responsible for loading desktop wallpapers reported "ready" only when it successfully loaded a wallpaper image. But when users selected a solid color background (an edge case), this code path never triggered the "ready" notification. As a result, the system waited the full 30-second timeout before proceeding with the login sequence. This issue shows how missing a seemingly small edge case can significantly impact user experience. What should have been a 5-second login process became a frustrating 30-second delay for users who chose a simple configuration option. Multiply this innocent 30-second delay by every user who had the version. What a waste of human time! Good software design requires you to consider all possible paths through your code, not just the common ones. When you skip handling edge cases, you create technical debt that manifests as mysterious performance issues, timeouts, and poor user experiences. Sample Code 📖 Wrong ❌ public static class WallpaperInitializer
{
    private static bool wallpaperWasDefined = false;

    public static void InitializeWallpaper()
    {
        if (wallpaperWasDefined)
        // Assume this was defined previously
        // and PLEASE DON'T use NULLs in case you hadn't    
        {
            LoadWallpaperBitmap();
            Report(WallpaperReady); // Missed if wallpaper is undefined
        }
       // No default report, causing delays
    }

    private static void LoadWallpaperBitmap()
    {
        
    }

    private static void Report(string status)
    {
        // The Asynchronous loading keeps on
    }
} public static class WallpaperInitializer
{
    private static bool wallpaperWasDefined = false;

    public static void InitializeWallpaper()
    {
        if (wallpaperWasDefined)
        // Assume this was defined previously
        // and PLEASE DON'T use NULLs in case you hadn't    
        {
            LoadWallpaperBitmap();
            Report(WallpaperReady); // Missed if wallpaper is undefined
        }
       // No default report, causing delays
    }

    private static void LoadWallpaperBitmap()
    {
        
    }

    private static void Report(string status)
    {
        // The Asynchronous loading keeps on
    }
} Right 👉 public static class WallpaperInitializer
{
    private static bool wallpaperWasDefined = false;

    public static void InitializeWallpaper()
    {
        if (wallpaperWasDefined)
        {
            LoadWallpaperBitmap();
        }
        Report(WallpaperReady); 
        // Always report, regardless of condition
    }

    private static void LoadWallpaperBitmap()
    {
    
    }
} public static class WallpaperInitializer
{
    private static bool wallpaperWasDefined = false;

    public static void InitializeWallpaper()
    {
        if (wallpaperWasDefined)
        {
            LoadWallpaperBitmap();
        }
        Report(WallpaperReady); 
        // Always report, regardless of condition
    }

    private static void LoadWallpaperBitmap()
    {
    
    }
} Detection 🔍 [x]Semi-Automatic [x] Semi-Automatic [x] Use static analysis tools to flag conditionals that guard critical reporting calls. Code reviews should verify that all initialization paths signal completion. Tags 🏷️ Performance Performance Level 🔋 [x]Intermediate [x] Intermediate [x] Why the Bijection Is Important 🗺️ The system’s real-world behavior (e.g., logon speed) depends on accurate modeling of readiness states. Software should maintain a one-to-one correspondence between real-world states and program states. When users select a solid color background in Windows, that choice represents a valid real-world state. (My personal choice also back then) (My personal choice also back then) The program must correctly model this choice with a corresponding program state that behaves properly. When you break this bijection by failing to handle edge cases, you introduce disconnects between user expectations and system behavior. In this example, users expected their choice of a solid color background to work normally, but instead, they experienced mysterious delays. The missing bijection creates cognitive dissonance: "I made a simple choice, why is my computer behaving strangely?" This disconnect damages user trust and satisfaction. Each broken bijection introduces a crack in the system's reliability model, making it increasingly unpredictable over time. Breaking this link causes mismatches between user expectations and software execution, leading to unpredictable delays and MAPPER to real-world violations. MAPPER AI Generation 🤖 AI generators can create this smell by naively wrapping legacy code in conditionals without validating all paths. AI Detection 🥃 Prompt AI to "ensure status reports execute in all branches," and it will flag or fix this smell by moving Report() outside conditionals. Try Them! 🛠 Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Suggested Prompt: find missing else reports Suggested Prompt: find missing else reports Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions ChatGPT

ChatGPT Claude

Claude Perplexity

Perplexity Copilot

Copilot Gemini

Gemini DeepSeek

DeepSeek Meta AI

Meta AI Grok

Grok Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions With Specific Instructions Without Proper Instructions Without Proper Instructions With Specific Instructions With Specific Instructions ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Conclusion 🏁 Always signal completion unconditionally in initialization code. Conditional logic should modify behavior, not silence critical reporting steps. Relations 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxxii https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxxii https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxxx https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxxx https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xviii https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xviii More Information 📕 https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20250428-00/?p=111121&embedable=true https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20250428-00/?p=111121&embedable=true https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/the-welcome-screen-may-be-displayed-for-30-seconds-during-the-logon-process-after-you-set-a-solid-color-as-the-desktop-background-in-windows-7-or-in-windows-server-2008-r2-b4565ced-703a-cc85-bf9c-6b3d586d6421?embedable=true https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/the-welcome-screen-may-be-displayed-for-30-seconds-during-the-logon-process-after-you-set-a-solid-color-as-the-desktop-background-in-windows-7-or-in-windows-server-2008-r2-b4565ced-703a-cc85-bf9c-6b3d586d6421?embedable=true Disclaimer 📘 Code Smells are my opinion . opinion Testing leads to failure, and failure leads to understanding. Testing leads to failure, and failure leads to understanding. Burt Rutan Burt Rutan https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true

Microsoft

Code Smell 299 - How to Fix Overloaded Test Setups

Code Smell 297 - Syntactic Noise

Buy My Book

Share your ideas with me!

Read My Stories

Buy Me a Coffee

Too Long; Didn't Read

Make resilience your competitive advantage

Code Smell 298 - How to Fix Microsoft Windows Time Waste

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Untitled Story

10 Predictions About the Future of Finance

106 Stories To Learn About Clean Code

100 Pieces of Programming Advice from the Book Clean Code by Robert Martin

110 Stories To Learn About Refactoring

3 Things Coding And Prose Writing Have In Common According To Cory House

10 Predictions About the Future of Finance

106 Stories To Learn About Clean Code

100 Pieces of Programming Advice from the Book Clean Code by Robert Martin

110 Stories To Learn About Refactoring

3 Things Coding And Prose Writing Have In Common According To Cory House

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps