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The use of the term “code” in this way is universal among the US national laboratories and adjacent scientific computing fields. It refers to a complete softwa
by avalys 6y ago
The use of the term “code” in this way is universal among the US national laboratories and adjacent scientific computing fields.
It refers to a complete software package. So, a “hydrodynamics code” is a hydrodynamics simulation, like Gerris.
It seems peculiar but they’ve been using the term this way since the 1960’s and probably long before. Given how much of modern computer science arose from the US government scientific complex I’d say they’ve earned the right to define their own usage.
- lp251 6y agoCan confirm. My group leader is interested in building “a new hydrocode”, or discussing particulars of “a transport code”. Also, a whole bunch of people at LANL call slide decks “viewgraphs”. That’s my favorite.
- randlet 6y agoIt's not just the US, I think it's fairly common in the physical sciences in general. My masters project was "A Fast Monte Carlo Code for Brachytherapy" where "Code" really means software/program.
- armadsen 6y agoYep. I did a tiny bit of Fortran for antenna design and modeling in college in the 2000s. I noticed then that the professor -- who had been at my university since the late 50s -- and surrounding material (textbook, etc.) referred to programs as "codes".
- na85 6y agoIt's pretty common in Computational Fluids as well. Two well-known codes among several are Code Aster[0], a structural mechanics, thermodynamics, and finite element analysis solver, and Code Saturne[1], a Navier-Stokes solver. [0] https://www.code-aster.org/ https://www.code-aster.org/ [1] https://www.code-saturne.org/cms/ https://www.code-saturne.org/cms/
- analog31 6y agoThis was common when I was in school, long ago. Also, codes may have had names, but more frequently than not were named after their authors. "I used so-and-so's code for this." The problem is compounded today, by a certain contingent (okay, physicists) who enjoy referring to things by the most archaic possible name.
- gnufx 6y agoIt's widely used on the right side of the Atlantic too, at least in technical circles. What's unfortunate is that -- especially in the wider world -- now everyone just talks about "coding", the relatively trivial part of programming.