Ask HN: “code” or “codes”?

Re:Ask HN: “code” or “codes”? by jhugo on Monday October 03, 2022 @08:03AM (#33066274)

> There seems - subjectively - to be a recent (years) uptick in the use of "codes" referring to source code.

I agree that there is an uptick in the last few years, but I've never encountered "codes" used by a native English speaker with an understanding of software (occasionally, even 10+ years ago, I've heard it used by non-technical people).

> And, perhaps controversially, does "codes" still sound wrong?

To my (native English speaker) ears, yes, very wrong, and all of the people I've encountered who use "codes" when referring to source code make numerous other common mistakes which I consider "codes" to be one of.

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Re:Ask HN: “code” or “codes”? by an1sotropy on Monday October 03, 2022 @01:07PM (#33070421)

Here's an informative google search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22finite+element+codes%22

I don't know about a recent uptick in "codes", but I know it is incorrect to attribute using "codes" to non-native English. As I noted in another comment, software for numeric and scientific computing is very commonly referred to as "codes". Finite element simulations are a good example of something where the code has been written and refined over many decades, and so the result is a treasured collection of discrete objects that are passed down. You can see that in how "codes" is used in the search results above.

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Re:Ask HN: “code” or “codes”? by jhugo on Monday October 03, 2022 @09:55PM (#33075983)

There is quite a different vocabulary between academic/numerical/scientific computing and "commercial" software engineering. Perhaps my previous comment should have been more explicit that I was talking about software engineering, but given the context I think it should have been clear.

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