What is “runtime”?

Question

I have heard about things like \"C Runtime\", \"Visual C++ 2008 Runtime\", \".NET Common Language Runtime\", etc.

• What is \"runtime\" exactly?

Answer 1

In my understanding runtime is exactly what it means - the time when the program is run. You can say something happens at runtime / run time or at compile time.

I think runtime and runtime library should be (if they aren't) two separate things. "C runtime" doesn't seem right to me. I call it "C runtime library".

Answers to your other questions: I think the term runtime can be extended to include also the environment and the context of the program when it is run, so:

• it consists of everything that can be called "environment" during the time when the program is run, for example other processes, state of the operating system and used libraries, state of other processes, etc
• it doesn't interact with your code in a general sense, it just defines in what circumstances your code works, what is available to it during execution.

This answer is to some extend just my opinion, not a fact or definition.