[wilsonnb3]

Eh music sampling is a unique case because of the dual intellectual property concerns (the composition and the recording).

I can’t use a snippet from a recording no matter how short but I can use a tiny snippet of a composition. You can’t copyright a single note.

[brigandish]

So code and mechanical music (i.e. a recording) aren't exactly the same, but code and music compositions are more similar. Can you use a tiny snippet from a composition and still infringe copyright? Yes, you can. Maybe not however short, but there will come a point.