Search

The search found 3 results in 0.01 seconds.

Search results

1. Comments on Comments in Code

   Where in source code do we locate the "extra-functional significance" that Critical Code Studies calls us to critique? One starting point is in code comments. In most programming languages, comments are simple marks that set aside text for humans to read but computers to ignore. The act of "commenting" and "uncommenting" circulates this text into and out of the code per se, which is to say into and out of the purview of the compiler / interpreter. Like footnotes or endnotes, code comments are paratexts — continuous with and yet set apart from the source. Where they serve as actual *commentaries*, these paratexts enabling programmers to signal intentions, record histories, and render aesthetic judgements: comments enable the vital processes of software development culture.

   Patricia Tomaszek - 07.07.2012 - 22:36

2. Critical Code Studies

   Critical Code Studies

   Patricia Tomaszek - 10.07.2012 - 23:08

3. The Web is Paratextual: An Exploration of the Web's Architecture from a Paratextual Perspective

   Contrary to what one might assume when comparing the materiality of the book-as-object to the Web, this paper proofs what the title promises and projects Gérard Genette's '87 book-based paratext theory onto the Web. Elements of the Web’s architecture selected for this paratextual study include textual units that are exposed in browser windows, thereby taking into consideration Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and the structure of website-addresses and links.The presentation concludes with examples from electronic literature, that is literature in programmable media, an artistic practice employing language-driven, linguistic, and literary features in multi-medial, digital environments carried out by an artist, programmer, designer, or computer program.

   Patricia Tomaszek - 07.12.2012 - 11:46