<p>I am having trouble deciding on whether to classify my application as 'real time' or 'near real time', or perhaps even something else.</p>

<p>The software receives data immediately as it is generated from the source, then based on certain rules, raises an alert when certain conditions are met. It takes the approach of checking the last 30 seconds of data every 30 seconds to see whether the criteria for a rule has been met.</p>

<p>Is that real time? What are the thresholds for the definitions of real time vs. near real-time?</p>

<p><strong>EDIT</strong></p>

<p>I think this is a duplicate of <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51135/define-realtime-on-the-web-for-business">Define realtime on the web for business</a>.</p>

<p>Please decide if the above thread is insufficient to answer your question.</p>

I am in agreement with John, in your scenario you are looking at least 30 seconds of delay, I would say that it is nearly real time.