Add a "code" primary language

[emmamarichal]

Discussion with @simoncozens, @MariannaPaszkowska, @m4rc1e + cc @davelab6

With Google Sans Code, we’re introducing for the first time a sample text containing code.

It would be great to add similar samples for all current and future coding fonts. Even better would be to automate this process, instead of manually copy-pasting a code sample for each font.

The idea is to add "code" as a language, using this format:
primary_language: "code_Latn"

@rsheeter @evanwadams what do you think?

[rsheeter]

I agree we should capture that a family is for code. I suspect this is not the right way to do it, it's mixing up concerns and muddying the concept of a language. My intuition is tag(s) or dedicated fields might make more sense. We need someone on our eng team to think this through. Hm. Are coding fonts for all code or are they for specific programming languages?

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On Thu, Jul 24, 2025, 11:57 AM Emma Marichal ***@***.***> wrote: *emmamarichal* created an issue (googlefonts/lang#243) <#243> Discussion with @simoncozens <https://github.com/simoncozens>, @MariannaPaszkowska <https://github.com/MariannaPaszkowska>, @m4rc1e <https://github.com/m4rc1e> + cc @davelab6 <https://github.com/davelab6> With *Google Sans Code*, we’re introducing for the first time a sample text containing code <https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Google+Sans+Code>. It would be great to add similar samples for all current and future coding fonts. Even better would be to automate this process, instead of manually copy-pasting a code sample for each font. The idea is to add "code" as a language, using this format: primary_language: "code_Latn" @rsheeter <https://github.com/rsheeter> @evanwadams <https://github.com/evanwadams> what do you think? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#243>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ABRKXAELN3ZI3VGQW2LVRV33KDX5HAVCNFSM6AAAAACCJDL26GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43ASLTON2WKOZTGI3DAMRQHEZDQNA> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[emmamarichal]

I think coding fonts are adapted for every programming language. They're made to improve readability, reduce eye strain, and clearly distinguish characters that can easily be confused (like 0 vs O, 1 vs l vs I, etc.).

[moyogo]

Besides APL I don't think there are many languages that go beyond ASCII for default syntax. However many languages allow a wide range of Unicode characters for identifiers, but that's likely outside of scope.