When do nouns convert between mass and count?

Question

I confess to having the pedantic hangup of refusing to use email as a count noun, but it's a lost cause.

Over the past week I've been working on a modeling and simulation proposal, and I've noticed that the M&S community seems to find code as a count noun to be acceptable usage, e.g.,

Conservative codes adopt the approach of …

What are the rules that make conversions from mass noun to count noun grammatical? How about the other direction, of which I'm having a hard time producing an example?

Related Questions
Explanation for “emails”?
Is it wrong to use the word "codes" in a programming context?

Answer 1

Depending from the context, codes is a used word. Looking at the Corpus of Contemporary American English, I can find the following sentences.

In Congress, it presents itself in massive legislation, acts and codes thousands of pages long and so monstrously overcomplicated that no human being possibly can read through them - much less understand them or apply them justly to a people who increasingly feel like they no longer are being asked, but rather told.

After the job was completed, an inspector visited and described a scenario in which a child might climb the spindles as if they were a ladder and tumble to the ground. Lesson Learned: Read codes carefully—meeting them is the homeowner's responsibility, and just because a plan is approved, it doesn't mean it meets code.

Using C-based programming codes, the DM-225i series converts motion commands directly to motor currents. The driver includes circuitry required for I/O, communications, and encoder feedback as well as C/C++ motion-control library functions, designed to operate in real time or as a stand-alone configuration, DM-225i can be used in conjunction with a control IBM PC or compatible or as a runtime system without a PC.