Code tags get messed up

<code> is an "inline" tag, like <strong> and <em>. More details: Phrase elements: EM, STRONG, DFN, CODE, SAMP, KBD, VAR, CITE, ABBR, and ACRONYM http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/struct/text.html#h-9.2.1

According to the W3C specification blank spaces and line breaks are ignored in it. The only tag that preserves them is the <pre> tag and that is working well in both editors and autop.

The fact that newlines aren't preserved means

<code> a

b

c </code>

could reasonably become

<code>a b c</code>

but not

<code>a</code> b c

as the original description has.

When using the HTML editor pressing Enter once would insert BR tag, pressing it twice would insert P tag. Since you can't wrap paragraphs in <code>, it is limited only to the first paragraph.

If you want to stop converting new lines to paragraphs, you will have to turn off autop (not recommended).

Shouldn't the converter recognise when it is inside a <code> element and not convert newlines to <p>s inside it?

<code> is an inline tag. Shouldn't it not have line breaks inside of it?

Also -- there are TONS of plugins for pasting code. Why not use one of those? That way you don't have to manual convert to HTML entities, i.e. like < to &lt;.