Let me clear up a common misconception. When most people say writing in code, what they really mean is writing using a cipher. A code is when a symbol, word, or phrase is used to stand for a different word, phrase, or sentence. A cipher is were each letter in a word is represented with a different letter or symbol.
The dash is a punctuation mark that is similar to a hyphen or minus sign, but differs from both of these symbols primarily in length and function.
Answer by Steve Cohen. Confidence votes 3.1K. A hyphen (also known as a dash or minus sign) looks like this: - On most standard QWERTY-style computer keyboards, a hyphen or dash appears above the letter 'P' and to the right of the number zero.