Nothing requires a function, you can have code without a function.

I think good art (to me) requires some function. And code is art. Like architecture , or furniture design, or gardening, or dance, or many art where the design and precision and purpose is all tied into what the artist is doing.

I don’t think coding is pointless and think that coding for the purpose of being beautiful can be dangerous and painful to support or refactor. But I’ve read a lot of code and appreciated it on some aesthetic level and remember thinking, “that’s neat.”