Real-time computing

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Real-time computing (RTC) is the computer science term for hardware and software systems subject to a "real-time constraint", for example, from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within specified time constraints, often referred to as "deadlines". The term "real-time" is also used in simulation to mean that the simulation's clock runs at the same speed as a real clock. Real-time responses are often understood to be in the order of milliseconds, and sometimes microseconds. A system not specified as operating in real time cannot usually guarantee a response within any timeframe, although typical or expected response times may be given. Real-time processing fails if not completed within a specified deadline relative to an event; deadlines must always be met, regardless of system load. A real-time system has been described as one which "controls an environment by receiving data, processing them, and returning the results sufficiently quickly to affect the environment...

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