Through the reading of “Toward the Rhetorical Study of Code”, I learned that code is a meaningful form of communication just as any other communication. It’s something that is produced more than we may even be aware of on a daily basis. When we read sentences online or while scrolling through a website, we don’t realize it then but we’re actually reading code. That code we read is being presented to us differently. We don’t read it as the code itself but rather we read it as what it was created to communicate. Code is the ability to tell something what and how to do it. It communicates to the computer what it wants it to create and then perform.
How We Read Rhetorical Code
Which then leads me to rhetorical code. To me it seems to be how code functions as a form of communication that influences relationships. Relationships among developers, between developers and users, developers and technologies, and users and technologies. Rhetorical code has the power of persuasion as it programs specific choices users can interact with within the system. For example, websites may present a hyperlink to click on which then leads to another specific page or resource. Another example, a submission button. The code programmed for that button remains the same while also limiting users any other option but to either submit it or discard it.
Code is more influential than I was aware of prior. I knew it existed but I didn’t know what it was really capable of until now. Programmers use code to communicate within the technology world. As online users we also communicate using code as we type and interact through different digital It’s important to understand the use of code as it can better shape our ability to communicate effectively through digital spaces.
Leave a Reply