I'm writing an application that implements a questionnaire. Does qualify as being a real-time application?

Question

Keeping it simple, I have a server and client. The server sends questions one by one and the client the answers, as soon as they are given.

So, would you say this application is real time?

Answer 1

Based on this quote from wikipedia, which summarizes my understand of what a real-time application is:

"A system is said to be real-time if the total correctness of an operation depends not only upon its logical correctness, but also upon the time in which it is performed. The classical conception is that in a hard real-time or immediate real-time system, the completion of an operation after its deadline is considered useless - ultimately, this may cause a critical failure of the complete system. A soft real-time system on the other hand will tolerate such lateness, and may respond with decreased service quality (e.g., omitting frames while displaying a video)."

I would say no, it is not real-time.

Answer 2

No, Real-time systems are ones where the OS/Application has to respond to the environment within a known period, for example an embedded flight control system on a fighter jet.

Wikipedia has a fairly good article on Real-time computing.

Answer 3

If you are using for the communication a protocol like TCP/IP, that isnt realtime system, because these communication link are not by nature deterministic in matter of response time, the only sure thing is that the message will arrive, when? who knows...