> > This is true, although, in that case I'd rather have a finite state
> > machine burned onto a PROM.
>
> Yes of course. That was just an example - the first that came to mind
and
> apparently not quite good. The point was just that there is software
that
> finds a solution to a problem (which you need not execute if you know
the
> outcome) and software that has to be run to be really useful
(accounting
> systems, web servers...).

Actually, my response was silly.  I wouldn't rather have a PROM,
because then the car can't be reprogrammed.  A better example would
have been software that controls a factory robot that assembles parts.
It is, basically, a finite state machine, but you also want it to be
programmable.

--- SER