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.
A minus sign and en dash are usually the same, are always level with the leading of the line of type, and are thinner than the hyphen (in a weighted font). The en dash is so called because itâs the same width as a lower-case letter n. An em dash is the same weight as the en dash, and the width of a lower-case letter m. Hyphens are used to join parts of words. There are a couple of them in the above passage. Theyâre also used, in traditional typography, to break up words at the end of a line of text.