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real-time
denoting or relating to a data-processing system in which a computer receives constantly changing data, such as information relating to air-traffic control, travel booking systems, etc., and processes it sufficiently rapidly to be able to control the source of the data
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
real-time
[′rēl ‚tīm](computer science)
Pertaining to a data-processing system that controls an ongoing process and delivers its outputs (or controls its inputs) not later than the time when these are needed for effective control; for instance, airline reservations booking and chemical processes control.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
real-time
(1)Describes an application which requires a program to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of response time (typically milli- or microseconds). Process control at a chemical plant is the classic example. Such applications often require special operating systems (because everything else must take a back seat to response time) and speed-tuned hardware.
real-time
(2)In jargon, refers to doing something while people are watching or waiting. "I asked her how to find the calling procedure's program counter on the stack and she came up with an algorithm in real time."
Used to describe a system that must guarantee a response to an external event within a given time.
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