Runtime Environment

The runtime environment (commonly referred to as runtime) is the underlying system for executing a program. It includes resource management, especially memory allocation and garbage collection Supporting libraries or frameworks for example message passing, and interfaces to hardware.

Classical

Full Definition

All responsibilities for code execution are handled by the runtime environment. For performance reasons, some of these tasks are relegated to the operating system. Interpretation of code is usually understood as part of the runtime, while Compilation is not. Still, compilers are tightly connected with the runtime environment but technically not part of it.

Examples

• JRE, the Java Runtime Environment

Synonyms

• Runtime

Depending on the context the term Runtime is sometimes called Running time. In most cases, Runtime Environment is shortened to runtime.

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