Is OT deterministic?

[Bill Turkel]

From: "Ellen F. Prince" <ellen at CENTRAL.CIS.UPENN.EDU>

> my understanding is that, given a set of constraints and
> an ordering/weighting, there's only one possible outcome for a particular case
> in ot. and that's how i understand 'deterministic' and that's what i would
> guess guy had in mind.

So, three observations.

1) The outcome can be a (possibly empty) *set* of optimal candidates.  This
        seems to leave room for nondeterminism and optionality.

2) A particular constraint might be nondeterministic in action.  This relates
        to Dan's point about compatibility with formal/functional models.

3) The way that the outcome is computed may involve nondeterminism.

Thanks to everyone for clearing up Guy's claim.

Bill