Definitely software. Just because the program counter that steps through the code is in fact a variable in a program, rather than a register on a chip, doesn't make the code any less software. In fact, a good interpreter will probably have the program counter in a processor register if the processor has enough of these. FWIW, I would call a cd-rom a storage medium (everyone who says "a storage media" go and wash your mouths out). The code that is stored on it is software if it represents instructions for a computer. I would include embedded data (like messages the program might print) to be part of the "software", even though (you hope) they are not stepped through by the program counter. I'm not sure where you draw the line on this one - is a separate message file (a man file, for example) still software? A ROM chip is hardware. The program in it is software. Because it is stored in a ROM chip it is _also_ firmware. (IMHO). Philip.