Source Code
Human readable text of a piece of software in a programming language, translated by compiler or interpreter into executable code.
Also known as: Source Code, Programme Code
Source code is the human readable text of a piece of software, written in a programming language such as JavaScript, Python, Java, Go or PHP. Compilers or interpreters translate the source code into executable machine or intermediate code so the programme can run on a computer. Source code is the only reliable source of truth about an application's behaviour.
How source code is organised
Source code lives in files organised in directory structures. Version control systems like Git store every change with history, author and reason. Teams work in parallel via branches that are later merged. Platforms such as GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket host source code centrally and support code review, continuous integration and issue tracking.
Visibility and licensing
Source code is either proprietary and only available internally, or open source and published under an appropriate licence. Open source licences such as MIT, Apache 2.0 or GPL define what users may do with the code. For websites, the frontend source code is in principle viewable through the browser, while the backend code stays on the server and is not publicly accessible.
Practical use
In day to day marketing, source code usually runs in the background, for example as a tracking snippet, conversion pixel or component of a landing page. Changes are the responsibility of engineering but should be documented. For in house platforms, clean architecture and source code allow new marketing features to ship faster than with bought tools of limited extensibility.