DEV Community

Discussion on: Can code be poetic?

Collapse
 
jonrandy profile image
Jon Randy 🎖️ • Edited

A lot of the examples here are either code written to read like English language poetry, or mention programs that output something poetic. I'm not sure this was what the OP was getting at...

I do believe code can be poetic. One sense of 'poetic' is:

having an imaginative or sensitively emotional style of expression.

It's certainly possible to use language constructs in imaginative and creative ways - often resulting in code that is elegant and unique, sometimes reinterpreting or shining an entirely different light on code syntax and grammar.

Code like this could certainly be considered poetic IMO. All art is subjective

Collapse
 
michaeltharrington profile image
Michael Tharrington

I really like that take, Jon!

Definitely open to hearing everybody's different interpretations and find all of this interesting, but you're right that I was thinking along the lines of writing code that is imaginative or creative in some way and less related to writing in English.