However, every art form (by "art" I refer loosely to anything that requires practice to master) is judged based on its method of transmitting information. The Elements of Style wouldn't help a painter. It absolutely would help a programmer. It would help a screenwriter, a lyricist, a playwright.
The fact that both programming and writing deal with text mean that they have text in common. And learning how to write is something that helps you in both scenarios.
Coding IS just writing. However, it's writing with a different purpose than journalism or novel-writing or poetry. Doesn't change the fact that all of them rely on text and ONLY text as a medium.