"Computer code" or "computer codes"? US vs UK While correcting a notebook entry, I left the sentence, "I love to write code, and I want to be a programmer," as correct. Then a person from Australia ch

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"Computer code" or "computer codes"? US vs UK While correcting a notebook entry, I left the sentence, "I love to write code, and I want to be a programmer," as correct. Then a person from Australia changed it to "I love to write codes..." Do computer programmers in Australia and the UK write "computer code," or "computer codes?" I know they use a lot of "maths" while doing it. The only time I would write a sentence like that would be something like, "Alan Turing was a famous cryptanalyst, and he wrote many codes."

Apr 9, 2014 9:24 PM

Answers · 15

As far as I can tell, Jmat corrected "codes" to mean "programs" (or parts of programs). In a generic sense, referring to a programming language, we still say "code".

April 9, 2014

I am a software engineer in the United States. We refer to it as "writing code", not as "writing codes." Of course, you can also optionally say "I write software for a living." instead of "I write code for a living." Crytographical codes are a different thing, hence why you uses the plural there.

April 9, 2014

If you add the adjective 'secret' the difference of the two meanings becomes clear: m1) Secret codes can be used in a computerized system m2) In the Linux system there are tons of code. (m2) means a single instruction in a computer language, or (depending upon the context) a large list (or set) of instructions. (m1) is the meaning 'more tradtional' meaning that can be used also in contexts not related to computers and can be both singular or plural (obviously depending upon the intended meaning).

April 9, 2014

Perhaps what they are talking about are opcodes which, as another person mentioned on this thread, are single very low level machine instructions. Most coders today use high level programming.languages and don't get really under the hood like they would with assembly language like that though.

April 9, 2014

Could you add a link to the notebook entry? You've got me curious, in case there is more context. Your sentence as it stands though is fine to me as a Kiwi programmer, and changing code to codes is wrong.

April 10, 2014

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