"Peter Hansen" <peter at engcorp.com> wrote in message news:3BACEA2C.EBE41B5E at engcorp.com... > All "hard" means is deterministic, or guaranteed. Hence the motto of the DEC real-time group: Better never than late. PJDM -- Peter Mayne IBM GSA (but the opinions are mine) Canberra, ACT, Australia This post is covered by Sturgeon's Law.