I hear you that the end result is the software product, but what I'm saying is there are a lot of middle steps and grey area that could also be argued to be "so

I hear you that the end result is the software product, but what I'm saying is there are a lot of middle steps and grey area that could also be argued to be "software." In other words, I think I was trying to say I simply disagree with, or don't understand the point of the article due to the massive nuances. Also, yes, I love quines. And they're a great example of a nuance I'm conveying here.