So I’m re-reading the novel-
And I’m going to be just as annoying as I was the first time because it is such a fantastic exploration into the film. I’m a sucker for character study and for world building so I’m living my best life.
Anyways here’s some information on programs and their belief in users that absolutely has me
So circuitry is implied to be Vestigial, which … program evolution??? I guess it’d be more updates etc. It implies they serve no real “purpose” but are just a part of them… except that the movie and the novel show that circuits aren’t completely useless like a extra pinky bone or something. Again they are basically mood rings shining bright when excited, dim when scared etc and uh- the deleted scene. They have use just not a major function I suppose.
While we’re on program religion, with my last post pertaining to the grid I mentioned it being literally intrinsic. Here’s some passages on that RIP Crom you have some good world building 🙏
Clu 1.0 you don’t deserve what you got baby we should stop ignoring you you’re great. It also makes me sad as while clu 2.0 isn’t the same program (or even function) he likely started out similar to him. “Dogged and relentless” a optimistic and persistent young program eager and passionate about making the system a better place :(

Oh wow this is all so GOOD (I should really not read these excerpts very closely because I am trying to read the novel myself and I really want to experience it as intended, but your observations are so GOOD)

One thing I notice about the circuitry patterns is… they are never really explicitly talked about, or called anything, in the 1982 movie?

They do resemble circuits, yes, but circuits are a part of hardware and these designs are a part of software. They’re a detail of visual interface (not User-interface, because Users aren’t really intended to see them, but program-to-program communication, as you point out)

As far as I remember from the movie, “circuits” are mentioned only as a reference to parts of the computer system that they live in.

“they never built a circuit that could hold you”

“a lot of cold circuits”

and I think even

“can be reached by this circuit” (in the deleted scene, where Yori is using a circuit-pattern on Tron as an analogy for a path they will have to travel through in the computer)