What exactly is meant by real-time?
There are _several_ definitions of real-time, most of them contradictory. Unfortunately the topic is controversial, and there doesn’t seem to be 100% agreement over the terminology. 1. The canonical definition of a real-time system (from Donald Gillies mailto:gillies@ee.ubc.ca ), is the following: “A real-time system is one in which the correctness of the computations not only depends upon the logical correctness of the computation but also upon the time at which the result is produced. If the timing constraints of the system are not met, system failure is said to have occurred.” Others have added: “Hence, it is essential that the timing constraints of the system are guaranteed to be met. Guaranteeing timing behavior requires that the system be predictable. It is also desirable that the system attain a high degree of utilization while satisfying the timing constraints of the system.” A good example is a robot that has to pick up something from a conveyor belt. The piece is moving, and
