Codefunctions

Codefunctions is a term used to describe reusable blocks of code whose primary purpose is to operate on software artifacts, especially source code, rather than on application data alone. A codefunction may be a function, method, or procedure whose inputs and outputs reflect code structures such as tokens, syntax trees, or formatted text. The term is common in discussions of tooling, metaprogramming, and code transformation pipelines.

Codefunctions may reside in libraries, tooling, or frameworks that provide programmatic code analysis, transformation, generation, or inspection capabilities. They are distinguished by a focus on code as input and output, and on preserving or transforming code properties such as syntax validity, semantics, and formatting.

Typical codefunctions have explicit interfaces, deterministic behavior, and documented side effects when they occur. They often process inputs such as source text or abstract syntax trees and produce outputs like modified source, transformed AST, or diagnostic data. In well-designed systems, they are composable, testable, and resilient to partial failures.

Applications include static analysis, code linters, automated refactoring, code formatting, transpilation, code generation, instrumentation, and metaprogramming pipelines. They enable tooling to reason about code structure, enforce conventions, or automate repetitive edits while keeping a clear separation between analysis, transformation, and execution.

Examples of codefunctions include parseCode(source) -> AST, formatCode(source) -> formattedSource, transformAST(ast, rules) -> newAst, and generateCode(template, data) -> sourceCode.