In which way is akka real-time?

Question

At a couple of places there is state that akka is somehow "real-time". E.g.:

http://doc.akka.io/docs/akka/2.0/intro/what-is-akka.html

Unfortunately I was not able to find a deeper explanation in which way akka is "real-time". So this is the question:

In which way is akka real-time?

I assume akka is not really a real-time computing system in the sense of the following definition, isn't it?: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real-time_computing

Answer 1

No language built on the JVM can be real-time in the sense that it's guaranteed to react within a certain amount of time unless it is using a JVM that supports real-time extensions (and takes advantage of them). It just isn't technically possible--and Akka is no exception.

However, Akka does provide support for running things quickly and with pretty good timing compared to what is possible. And in the docs, the other definitions of real-time (meaning online, while-running, with-good-average-latency, fast-enough-for-you-not-to-notice-the-delay, etc.) may be used on occasion.

Answer 2

Since akka is a message driven system, the use of real-time relates to one of the definition of the wikipedia article you mention in the domain of data transfer, media processing and enterprise systems, the term is used to mean 'without perceivable delay'.

"real time" here equates to "going with the flow": events/messages are efficiently processed/consumed as they are produced (in opposition to "batch processing").