HOME Lillian Evans

Reading Response Week 2 (9/12/19)

What is Code?


Essay by Paul Ford

Although this piece aimed to be informative on different systems and types of code, my biggest takeaway was that coding has nothing to do with computers, or having the best or newest system. Coding is a tool to put ideas out into the world, just like any other form of creative creation.
This especially made me think of the printmaking communities, as there are many similarities in the communities of coding and printmaking.

  • 1. There is always the newest, biggest, best, set of tools. For coders, this may be the programming language, or combination of programming languages. For printmakers, there is always a new digital program for choosing colors and layers, new types of presses, and different techniques to discover.
  • 2. There is competition. Printmakers are competitive and notoriously secretive about their methods. It takes integration into many different communities in order to gain access to skills that must be passed down by a combination of trial and error, and advice. Coders seem to have a more "figure it out on your own" method, but if you are versed enough in certain lingo, and can find the information, it is all there for you to discover.
  • At the end of the day, it's just a means to an end of expressing ideas. And some people are going to have an inherent knack for it that cannot be taught, learned, or practiced