[coldnebo]

Yes, but the software may be based on symbolic reasoning, in which case the computer can 'use' a description of process symbolically and unexhaustively just as a human would.

For example, these systems solve indefinite integrals without having to apply numerical methods with an infinite number of steps: http://www.integral-calculator.com/ http://maxima.sourceforge.net/ https://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/