code

1. n. The stuff that software writers write, either in source form or after
translation by a compiler or assembler. Often used in opposition to data ,
which is the stuff that  operates on. Among hackers this is a mass noun, as
in How much  does it take to do a bubble sort ? , or The  is loaded at the
high end of RAM. Among scientific programmers it is sometimes a count noun
equilvalent to program ; thus they may speak of codes in the plural. Anyone
referring to software as the softwares is probably a newbie or a suit. 2.
v. To write. In this sense, always refers to source  rather than compiled. I
d an Emacs clone in two hours! This verb is a bit of a cultural marker
associated with the Unix and minicomputer traditions (and lately Linux);
people within that culture prefer v.  to v. program whereas outside it the
reverse is normally true.
