Coding

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /koʊdɪŋ/

Definitions

1. The activity associated with writing source code for software creation involves designing algorithms and translating conceptual ideas into programming syntax
2. The process of creating instructions for computers using programming languages
3. The craft of producing coded scripts that direct software behavior and functionality

Etymology: "Coding" is a straightforward formation: the noun "code" with the suffix "-ing" attached, used here as a verb-form for the act of writing programs. The base word "code" traces back to a system of rules for arranging words, and the "-ing" ending turns the action into a process, so the word literally describes carrying out that work. The sense it now carries is a recent one, built on an older meaning of "code" as a body of laws or a set of rules for conduct, which is where the idea of an ordered system of instructions comes from. When computing needed a name for writing programs, the existing noun was simply pressed into service, so the everyday word for the activity grew out of centuries of older usage rather than being newly invented.

Synonyms: programming, scripting, developing, encoding, marking