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Articles:a032
DatePublished:10/18/1995
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ArthurandMarilouiseKroker,Editors

ThereisNoSoftware
FriedrichKittler
Grammatologiesofthepresenttimehavetostartwitharathersadstatement.Thebulkofwritten
textsincludingthistextdonotexistanymoreinperceivabletimeandspacebutinacomputer
memory'stransistorcells.Andsincethesecellsinthelastthreedecadeshaveshrunktospatial
extensionsbelowonemicrometer,ourwritingmaywellbedefinedbyaselfsimilarityoflettersover
somesixdecades.Thisstateofaffairsmakesnotonlyadifferencetohistorywhen,atits
alphabeticalbeginning,acamelanditsHebraiclettergemelwerejust2.5decadesapart,italso
seemstohidetheveryactofwriting:wedonotwriteanymore.Thiscrazykindofsoftware
engineeringsufferedfromanincurableconfusionbetweenuseandmention.UptoHolderlin'stime,
amerementionoflightningseemedtohavebeensufficientevidenceofitspossiblepoeticuse.
Afterthislightning'smetamorphosisintoelectricity,humanmadewritingpassesthrough
microscopicallywritteninscriptionswhich,incontrasttoallhistoricalwritingtools,areabletoread
andwritebythemselves.Thelasthistoricalactofwritingmaywellhavebeenthemomentwhen,in
theearlyseventies,Intelengineerslaidoutsomedozensquaremetersofblueprintpaper(64
squaremeters,inthecaseofthelater8086)inordertodesignthehardwarearchitectureoftheir
firstintegratedmicroprocessor.Thismanuallayoutoftwothousandtransistorsandtheir
interconnectionswasthenminiaturizedtothesizeofanactualchip,and,byelectrooptical
machines,writtenintosiliconlayers.Finally,this4004microprocessorfounditsplaceinthenew
deskcalculatorsofIntel'sJapanesecustomer1andourpostmodernwritingscenebegan.Forthe
hardwarecomplexityofsuchmicroprocessorssimplydiscardsmanualdesigntechniquesinorder
tolayoutthenextcomputergeneration,theengineers,insteadoffillingoutuncountablemetersof
blueprintpaper,haverecoursetoComputerAidedDesign,thatis,tothegeometricalorautorouting
powersoftheactualgeneration.
However,inconstructingthefirstintegratedmicroprocessor,Intel'sMarcianE.Hoffhadgivenan
almostperfectdemonstrationofaTuringmachine.Since1937,computing,whetherdoneby
peopleorbymachines,hasbeenformalizedasacountablesetofinstructionsoperatingonan
infinitelylongpaperbandanditsdiscretesigns.Turing'sconceptofsuchapapermachine2whose
operationsconsistonlyofwritingandreading,proceedingandreceding,hasproventobethe
mathematicalequivalentofanycomputablefunction.
UniversalTuringmachines,whenfedwiththeinstructionsofanyothermachine,caneffectively
imitateit.Thus,preciselybecauseeventualdifferencesbetweenhardwareimplementationsdonot
countanymore,thesocalledChurchTuringhypothesisinitsstrongestorphysicalformis
tantamounttodeclaringnatureitselfauniversalTuringmachine.
Thisclaim,initself,hashadtheeffectofduplicatingtheimplosionofhardwarebyanexplosionof
software.Programminglanguageshaveerodedthemonopolyofordinarylanguageandgrowninto
anewhierarchyoftheirown.ThispostmoderntowerofBabelreachesfromsimpleoperationcodes
whoselinguisticextensionisstillahardwareconfigurationpassingthroughanassemblerwhose
extensionisthatveryassembler.Asaconsequence,farreachingchainsofselfsimilaritiesinthe
sensedefinedbyfractaltheoryorganizethesoftwareaswellasthehardwareofeverywriting.
Whatremainsaproblemisonlytherealizationoftheselayerswhich,justasmodernmedia
technologiesingeneral,havebeenexplicitlycontrivedinordertoevadeallperception.Wesimply
donotknowwhatourwritingdoes.
Foranillustrationofthisproblem,asimpletextprogramliketheonethathasproducedmyvery
paperwilldo.MaytheusersofWindowsorUNIXforgivewhenI,asasubjectofMicrosoftDOS,
limitthediscussiontothismoststupidofoperatingsystems.
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Inordertowordprocessatextand,thatis,tobecomeyourselfapapermachineworkingonan
IBMATunderMicrosoftDOS,youneedfirstofalltobuysomecommercialprograms.Unlessthese
havethefileextensionof.EXEorof.COM,wordprocessingunderDOScouldneverbegin.The
reasonisthatonly.COMand.EXEfilesentertainastrangerelationtotheirpropername.Atthe
onehand,theybeargrandiloquentnamessuchasWordPerfect,ontheotherhand,theybeara
moreorlesscryptic(becausenonvocalized)acronymsuchasWP.Thefullname,alas,serves
onlytheadvertisingstrategiesofsoftwaremanufacturers,sinceDOSasamicroprocessor
operatingsystemcouldneverreadfilenameslongerthaneightletters.Thatiswhythe
unpronounceableacronymWP,thisposthistoricrevocationofafundamentalGreekinnovation,is
notonlynecessary,butamplysufficientforpostmodernwordprocessing.Infact,itseemstobring
backtrulymagicalpowerWPdoeswhatitsays.Executablecomputerfilesencompass,by
contrastnotonlyto"WordPerfect"butalsotothebig,emptyoldEuropeanwordssuchas"Mind"or
"Word",alltheoldroutinesanddatanecessarytotheirselfconstitution.Surely,tappingtheletter
sequenceof"W","P"and"enter"onanATkeyboarddoesnotmaketheWordperfect,butthis
simplewritingactstartstheactualexecutionofWordPerfect.Sucharethetriumphsofsoftware.
Theaccompanyingpaperwarecannotbutmultiplythesemagicalpowers,writtenastheyarein
ordertobridgethegapbetweenformalandeverydaylanguages.Electronicsasliteraturethe
linguisticagentrulingwithnearomnipotenceoverthecomputersystem'sresources,address
spaces,andotherhardwareparameters:WP,whencalledwithcommandlineargumentX,would
changethemonitorscreenfromcolorAtoB,startinmodeC,returnfinallytoD,etceteraad
infinitum.
Infact,however,theseactionsofagentWParevirtualones,sinceeachofthemhastorununder
DOS.Itistheoperatingsystemand,moreprecisely,itscommandshellthatscansthekeyboardfor
eightbitfilenamesontheinputline,transformssomerelativeaddressesofaneventuallyretrieved
fileintoabsoluteones,loadsthisnewversionfromexternalmassmemorytothenecessary
randomaccessspace,andfinally(ortemporarily)passesexecutiontotheopcodelinesofaslave
namedWordPerfect.
ThesameargumentwouldholdagainstDOSwhich,inthefinalanalysis,resolvesintoan
extensionofthebasicinputandoutputsystemcalledBIOS.Notonlynoprogram,butno
underlyingmicroprocessorsystemcouldeverstartwithouttheratherincredibleautobootingfaculty
ofsomeelementaryfunctionsthat,forsafety'ssake,areburnedintosiliconandthusformpartof
thehardware.Anytransformationofmatterfromentropytoinformation,fromamillionsleeping
transistorsintodifferencesbetweenelectronicpotentials,necessarilypresupposesamaterialevent
called"reset".
Inprinciple,thiskindofdescentfromsoftwaretohardware,fromhighertolowerlevelsof
observation,couldbecontinuedovermoreandmoredecades.Allcodeoperations,despitetheir
metaphoricfacultiessuchas"call"or"return",comedowntoabsolutelylocalstringmanipulations
andthatis,Iamafraid,tosignifiersofvoltagedifferences.FormalizationinHilbert'ssensedoes
awaywiththeoryitself,insofaras"thetheoryisnolongerasystemofmeaningfulpropositions,but
oneofsentencesassequencesofwords,whichareinturnsequencesofletters.Wecantell[say]
byreferencetotheformalonewhichcombinationsofthewordsaresentences,whichsentences
areaxioms,andwhichsentencesfollowasimmediateconsequencesofothers."3
Whenmeaningscomedowntosentences,sentencestowords,andwordstoletters,thereisno
softwareatall.Rather,therewouldbenosoftwareifcomputersystemswerenotsurroundedany
longerbyanenvironmentofeverydaylanguages.Thisenvironment,however,sinceafamousand
twofoldGreekinvention,consistsoflettersandcoins,ofbooksandbucks.4Forthesegood
economicalreasons,nobodyseemstohaveinheritedthehumilityofAlanTuring,who,inthestone
ageofcomputing,preferredtoreadhismachine'soutputinhexadecimalnumbersratherthanin
decimalones.5Onthecontrary,thesocalledphilosophyofthecomputercommunitytendsto
systematicallyobscurehardwarebysoftware,electronicsignifiersbyinterfacesbetweenformal
andeverydaylanguages.Inallphilanthropicsincerity,highlevelprogrammingmanualscaution
againstthepsychopathologicalrisksofwritingassemblercode.6Inallfriendliness,"BIOSservices"
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arecurrentlydefinedas"hid[ing]thedetailsofcontrollingtheunderlyinghardwarefromyour
program."7Consequently,inaperfectgradualism,DOSserviceswouldhidetheBIOS,
WordPerfecttheoperatingsystem,andsoonandsoonuntil,intheverylastyears,two
fundamentalchangesincomputerdesign(orDoDpolitics)havebroughtthissecrecysystemtoits
closure.
Firstly,onanintentionallysuperficiallevel,perfectgraphicuserinterfaces,sincetheydispense
withwritingitself,hideawholemachinefromitsusers.Secondly,onthemicroscopiclevelof
hardwareitself,socalledprotectionsoftwarehasbeenimplementedinordertoprevent"untrusted
programs"or"untrustedusers"fromanyaccesstotheoperatingsystem'skernelandinput/output
channels.8
ThisongoingtriumphofsoftwareisastrangereversalofTuring'sproofthattherecanbeno
mathematicallycomputableproblemasimplemachinewouldnotsolve.Instead,thephysical
ChurchTuringhypothesis,byidentifyingphysicalhardwarewiththealgorithmforgedforits
computationhasfinallygotridofhardwareitself.Asaneffect,softwaresuccessfullyoccupiedthe
emptyplaceandprofitedfromitsobscurity.Theevergrowinghierarchyofhighlevelprogramming
languagesworksexactlythesamewayasonewayfunctionsinrecentmathematicalcryptography.
Thesekindsoffunctions,whenusedintheirstraightforwardform,canbecomputedinreasonable
time,inatimegrowingonlyinpolynomialexpressionswiththefunction'scomplexity.Thetime
neededforitsinverseform,howeverthatisforreconstructingfromthefunctions'outputits
presupposedinputwouldgrowatanexponentialandthereforeunviablerates.Onewayfunctions,
inotherwords,hideanalgorithmfromitsveryresult.Forsoftware,thiscryptographiceffectoffersa
convenientwaytobypassthefactthatbyvirtueofTuring'sprooftheconceptofmentalpropertyas
appliedtoalgorithmshasbecomemeaningless.
Preciselybecausesoftwaredoesnotexistasamachineindependentfaculty,softwareasa
commercialorAmericanmediuminsistsallthemore.Everylicense,everydongle,everytrademark
registeredforWPaswellasforWordPerfectprovethefunctionalityofonewayfunctions.Inthe
USA,notwithstandingallmathematicaltradition,evenacopyrightclaimforalgorithmshasrecently
succeeded.Atmost,finally,therehasbeen,onthepartofIBM,researchonamathematical
formulathatwouldenablethemtomeasurethedistanceincomplexitybetweenanalgorithmand
itsoutput.
WhereasinthegoodolddaysofShannon'smathematicaltheoryofinformation,themaximumof
informationcoincidedstrangelywithmaximalunpredictabilityornoise,9thenewIBMmeasure,
calledlogicaldepth,hasbeendefinedasfollows:
Thevalueofamessage[...]appearstoresidenotinitsinformation(itsabsolutely
unpredictableparts),norinitsobviousredundancy(verbatimrepetitions,unequaldigit
frequencies),butratherinwhatmaybecalleditsburiedredundancypartspredictable
onlywithdifficulty,thingsthereceivercouldinprinciplehavefiguredoutwithoutbeing
told,byonlyasconsiderablecostinmoney,timeorcomputation.Inotherwords,the
valueofamessageistheamountofmathematicalorotherworkplausiblydonebyits
originator,whichthereceiverissavedfromhavingtorepeat.10
Thuslogicaldepth,initsmathematicalrigor,couldadvantageouslyreplacealltheoldeveryday
languagedefinitionsoforiginality,authorshipandcopyrightintheirnecessaryinexactness,wereit
notforthefactthatpreciselythisalgorithmintendedtocomputethecostofalgorithmsingeneralis
Turinguncomputableitself.11
Underthesetragicconditions,thecriminallaw,atleastinGermany,hasrecentlyabandonedthe
veryconceptofsoftwareasamentalpropertyinstead,itdefinedsoftwareasanecessarily
materialthing.Thehighcourt'sreasoning,accordingtowhichwithoutthecorrespondentelectrical
chargesinsiliconcircuitrynocomputerprogramwouldeverrun12,canalreadyillustratethefact
thatthevirtualundecidabilitybetweensoftwareandhardwarefollowsbynomeans,assystem
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theoristswouldprobablyliketobelieve,fromasimplevariationofobservationpoints.Onthe
contrary,therearegoodgroundstoassumetheindispensabilityand,consequently,thepriorityof
hardwareingeneral.
OnlyinTuring'spaperOnComputableNumbersWithAnApplicationtothe
Entscheidungsproblemthereexistedamachinewithunboundedresourcesinspaceandtime,with
infinitesupplyofrawpaperandnoconstraintsoncomputationspeed.Allphysicallyfeasible
machines,incontrast,arelimitedbytheseparametersintheirverycode.TheinabilityofMicrosoft
DOStotellmorethanthefirsteightlettersofafilenamesuchasWordPerfectgivesjustatrivialor
obsoleteillustrationofaproblemthathasprovokednotonlytheevergrowingincompatibilities
betweenthedifferentgenerationsofeightbit,sixteenbitandthirtytwobitmicroprocessors,but
alsoanearimpossibilityofdigitizingthebodyofrealnumbers13formerlyknownasnature.
AccordingtoBroslHasslacherofLosAlamosNationalLaboratory,
...thismeans[that]weusedigitalcomputerswhosearchitectureisgiventousinthe
formofaphysicalpieceofmachinery,withallitsartificialconstraints.Wemustreducea
continuousalgorithmicdescriptiontoonecodableonadevicewhosefundamental
operationsarecountable,andwedothisbyvariousformsofchoppingintopieces,
usuallycalleddiscretization.[...]Thecompilerthenfurtherreducesthismodeltoa
binaryformdeterminedlargelybymachineconstraints.
Theoutcomeisadiscreteandsyntheticmicroworldimageoftheoriginalproblem,
whosestructureisarbitrarilyfixedbyadifferencingschemeandcomputational
architecturechosenatrandom.theonlyremnantofthecontinuumistheuseofradix
arithmetic,whichhasthepropertyofweighingbitsunequally,andfornonlinearsystems
isthesourceofspurioussingularities.Thisiswhatweactuallydowhenwecomputeup
amodelofthephysicalworldwithphysicaldevices.thisisnottheidealizedandsere
processthatweimaginewhenusuallyarguingaboutthefundamentalstructuresof
computation,andveryfarfromTuringmachines.14
Thus,insteadofpursuingthephysicalChurchTuringhypothesis,thatisof"injectingan
algorithmicbehaviorintothebehaviorofthephysicalworldforwhichthereisnoevidence,"15one
hasrathertocomputewhathasbeencalled"theprizeofprogrammability"itself.Thisallimportant
propertyofbeingprogrammablehas,inallevidence,nothingtodowithsoftwareitisanexclusive
featureofhardware,moreorlesssuitedasitistohousesomenotationsystem.WhenClaude
Shannon,in1937,provedinwhatisprobablythemostconsequentialMAthesiseverwritten16that
simpletelegraphswitchingrelayscanimplementbymeansoftheirdifferentinterconnectionsthe
wholeofBooleanalgebra,suchaphysicalnotationsystemwasestablished.Andwhenthe
integratedcircuit,developedinthe1970soutofShockley'stransistor,combinedononechipsilicon
asacontrollableresistorwithitsownoxideasanalmostperfectisolator,theprogrammabilityof
mattercouldfinally"takecontrol"justasTuringhadpredicted.17
Software,ifitexisted,wouldjustbeabilliondollardealbasedonthecheapestelementsonearth.
For,intheircombinationonchip,siliconanditsoxideprovideforperfecthardwarearchitectures.
Thatistosaythatthemillionsofbasicelementsworkunderalmostthesamephysicalconditions,
especiallyasregardsthemostcritical,namelytemperaturedependentdegradations,andyet,
electrically,allofthemarehighlyisolatedfromeachother.Onlythisparadoxicalrelationbetween
twophysicalparameters,thermalcontinuityandelectricaldiscretizationonchip,allowsintegrated
circuitstobenotonlyfinitestatemachineslikesomanyotherdevicesonearth,buttoapproximate
thatUniversalDiscreteMachineintowhichitsinventor'snamehaslongdisappeared.
Thisstructuraldifferencecanbeeasilyillustrated."Acombinationlock,"forinstance,"isafinite
automaton,butitisnotordinarilydecomposableintoabasesetofelementarytypecomponents
thatcanbereconfiguredtosimulateanarbitraryphysicalsystem.Asaconsequenceitisnot
structurallyprogrammable,andinthiscaseitiseffectivelyprogrammableonlyinthelimitedsense
thatitsstatecanbesetforachievingalimitedclassofbehaviours."Onthecontrary,"adigital
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computerusedtosimulateacombinationlockisstructurallyprogrammablesincethebehaviouris
achievedbysynthesizingitfromacanonicalsetofprimitiveswitchingcomponents."18
Switchingcomponents,however,betheytelegraphrelays,tubesorfinallymicrotransistorcells,
payapricefortheirverycomposability.Confrontedastheyarewithacontinuousenvironmentof
weather,waves,andwars,digitalcomputerscancopewiththisrealnumberavalancheonlyby
addingelementtoelement.However,thegrowthrateofpossibleinterconnectionsbetweenthose
elementsand,thatis,ofcomputingpowerassuch,isproventohaveasquarerootfunctionasits
upperbound.Inotherwords,itcannoteven"keepupwithpolynomialgrowthratesinproblem
size."19Thus,theveryisolationbetweendigitalordiscreteelementsaccountsforadrawbackin
connectivitywhichotherwise,"accordingtocurrentforcelaw"aswellastothebasicsof
combinatoriallogics,wouldbeboundedonlybyamaximumequallingthesquarenumberofall
involvedelements.20
Preciselythismaximalconnectivitydefinesnonprogrammablesystems,onthephysicalside,be
theywavesorbeings.Thatiswhythesesystemsshowpolynomialgrowthratesincomplexityand,
consequently,whyonlycomputationsdoneonnonprogrammablemachinescouldkeepupwith
them.Inallevidence,thishypotheticalbutalltoonecessarytypeofmachinewouldconstitute
sheerhardware,aphysicaldeviceworkingamidstphysicaldevicesandsubjectedtothesame
boundedresources.Softwareintheusualsenseofaneverfeasibleabstractionwouldnotexistany
more.Theproceduresofthesemachines,thoughstillopentoanalgorithmicnotation,wouldhave
toworkessentiallyonamaterialsubstratewhoseveryconnectivitywouldallowforcellular
reconfigurations.Andeventhoughthe"substratecanalsobedescribedinalgorithmicterms,by
meansofsimulation,"its"...characterizationisofsuchimmenseimportancefortheeffectiveness
[...]andsocloselyconnectedwithchoiceofhardware,that..."21programmingthemwillhavelittle
todoanymorewithapproximatedTuringmachines.
Siliconhardwareobeysmanyoftherequisitesforsuchhighlyconnected,nonprogrammable
systems.Betweenitsmillionsoftransistorcells,somemilliontothepoweroftwointeractionstake
placealreadythereiselectronicdiffusion,thereisquantummechanicaltunnelingalloverthe
chip.22Yet,technically,theseinteractionsarestilltreatedintermsofsystemlimitations,physical
sideeffects,andsoon.Tominimizeallthenoisethatitwouldbepossibletoeliminateistheprize
paidforstructurallyprogrammablemachines.Theinversestrategyofmaximizingnoisewouldnot
onlyfindthewaybackfromIBMtoShannon,itmaywellbetheonlywaytoenterthatbodyofreal
numbersoriginallyknownaschaos.
Notes
1.Vgl.KlausSchrodl,"Quantensprung."DOS12/1990,p.102f.
2.Cf.AlanM.Turing,"OnComputableNumbers,withanapplicationtothe
Entscheidungsproblem",ProceedingsoftheLondonMathematicalSociety,SecondSeries,V.42,
1937,p.249.
3.StephenC.Kleene,quotedbyRobertRosen,"EffectiveProcessesandNaturalLaw",In:The
UniversalTuringMachine,AHalfCenturySurvey,RolfHerken,ed.,HamburgBerlinOxford,1988,
p.527.
4.Cf.JohannesLohmann,"DieGeburtderTagdieausdemGeistederMuzik".Archivfur
Misikwissenschaft,1980,p.174.
5.Cf.AndrewHodges,AlanTuring:TheEnigma,NewYork1983,p.399.
6.Cf."TOOLPraxis:AssemblerProgrammierungaufdemPC",Ausgabe1,Wrzburg1989,p.9.
7.NabajyotiBarkalati,TheWaiteGroup'sMacroassemblerBible,Indiana,1989,p.528.
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8.Cf.FriedrichKittler,"ProtectedMode",InComputer,MachtundGegenwehr.InformatikerInnen
freineandereInformatik,UteBernhardtandIngoRuhmann,ed.Bonn1991,p.3444.
9.cf.FriedrichKittler,SignalRauschAbstand.In:MaterialittderKommunikation,ed.HansUlrich
GumbrechtandK.LudwigPfeiffer,Frankfurt/M.1988,p.343345.
10.CharlesH.Bennett,"LogicalDepthandPhysicalComplexity",inHerken,ibid.,p.230.
11.WiththankstoOswaldWiener/Yukon.
12.Cf.M.MichaelKnig,Sachlichsehen.ProblemebeiderUberlassungvonSoftware.c't3,1990,
p.73(Bundesgerichtshofentscheidungvom2.5.1985,Az.IZB8/84,NJWRR1986,219.Programs
aredefinedas"VerkrperungendergeistgenLeistung,damitaberSachen".).
13.IamatalossofunderstandinghowTuring'sfamouspapercould,initsfirstline,"briefly
describethe'computablenumbers'astherealnumberswhoseexpressionsasadecimalare
calculablebyfinitemeans"(OnComputableNumbers,p.230),thenproceedtodefinethesetof
computablenumbersascountableandfinallycallpi,takenas"thelimitofacomputably
convergentsequence,"acomputablenumber(p.256).
14.BrosslHasslacher,"AlgorithmsintheWorldofBoundedResources",inHerken,ibid.,p.421f.
15.Hasslacher,p.420.
16.cf.FriedrichWilhelmHagemeyer,DieEntstehungvonInformationskonzepteninder
Nachrichtentechnik.EineFallstudiazurTheoriebildunginderTechnikinIndustrieund
Kriegsforschung,Diss.phil.Berlin1979,p.432.
17.cf.AlanTuring,IntelligentMachinery,AHereticalTheoryinSarahTuring,AlanM.Turing,
Cambridge1959,p.134.
18.MichaelConrad,"ThePrizeofProgrammability",inHerken,p.289.
19.Ibid.,p.293.
20.Ibid.,p.290.
21.Ibid.,p.304.
22.Vgl.Conrad,Ibid.,p.303f.
FriedrichKittlerisoneofGermany'sleadingmediatheorists.Heisprofessorofphilosophyatthe
UniversityofFreiburg/Breisgau.
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