NewbieInSE:
Cable (wire rope) is generally not used to brace more rigid bldgs. and structures because it stretches too much. It has both an elastic stretch, the std. strain times length which we normally think of; and a mechanical stretch due to its methods of manufacture, the various wires tightening w.r.t. each other within the cable strands, and the strands within the whole cable doing the same. Thus, for a given load it elongates more than a solid rod or bar of the same area, and allows too much bldg. movement. Furthermore, the wires used generally have a higher yield strength than the steel rods which would be used, so the tenancy is to use smaller area cables, based on stress alone. Threaded steel rods, turnbuckles, nuts and washers, and various other common end hardware are a fairly std. detail for bldg. bracing.