Software Studies is a field of research that reads software and code as cultural texts. Matthew Fuller is identified as a key figure who organized this field and helped lead its theoretical development. In works such as "Behind the Blip" and the edited volume Software Studies: A Lexicon, software studies examines how program code and user interfaces produce social and aesthetic effects.
Within this approach, code is not treated as a mere technical instrument. It is understood as a medium that carries meaning and helps shape human behavior and thought. A web browser’s design, for example, is linked to the underlying HTML code structure that shapes how users receive information and navigate the web. Fuller’s web art work Web Stalker exemplifies this perspective by rejecting familiar browser metaphors and presenting a custom interface that directly visualizes HTML structure. By making code visible, the work proposes a different way of understanding the internet and serves as a critical software practice.