A limited version of one
program that enables you to
run another program. To run a program written in
Visual Basic, for example, you need the runtime version of Visual Basic. This allows you to run Visual Basic programs but not to develop them yourself. Many other development
applications, particularly
database applications, require a runtime version to
execute.
Software companies have different approaches to runtime versions. Some allow you to distribute the runtime version freely, while others require that you pay a license fee.
