# 1.4 What does "deterministic" mean in everyday life?

In the everyday world of automation, determinism means:\
If you have the same initial state and the same inputs, you will always get the same result.

There are no surprises, no dependencies on the sampling rate or on intermediate results.\
If a cylinder is supposed to "extend," it only does so when all associated conditions are met, and it is only reported as "finished" when its feedback is active.

This principle is not only crucial for control but also for **safety**.\
Safety considerations such as the Machinery Directive or functional safety according to ISO 13849 require that control behavior be **predictable** is.\
With Selmo, this requirement is automatically fulfilled because the system is based on a deterministic execution model.
