Runtimedriven

Runtime-driven describes a design approach in which system behavior is primarily determined by information and inputs available at run time, rather than being fixed during design or compiled into the code. In a runtime-driven model, components can adapt through external configuration, scripts, dynamic plugins, feature flags, or policy evaluation, allowing the system to respond to user context, workload conditions, or changing requirements without redeploying software.

This approach contrasts with design-time or compile-time decisions, which are baked into code and typically require rebuilds to alter behavior. Runtime-driven systems rely on indirection and modularity—such as plugin architectures, scripting layers, or rules engines—to inject or modify behavior at execution time. This often involves dynamic loading, interpretation, or evaluation of rules and configurations.

Common applications include software platforms with plugin ecosystems, feature-flag enabled deployments, dynamic routing and load-balancing policies, adaptable security and access-control policies, and data processing pipelines that alter transformation steps based on runtime conditions. It is also used in cloud-native controllers, policy-driven automation, and AI-enabled systems that select models or strategies at runtime.

Benefits of runtime-driven design include greater flexibility, faster experimentation, and the ability to tailor behavior to individual users or environments without redeployments. Drawbacks can include increased complexity, greater testing challenges, potential performance overhead, security considerations, and more difficult observability.

Best practices emphasize clear separation between runtime-configurable behavior and core logic, versioned and auditable configurations, robust monitoring and tracing, secure and validated plugin and script execution, and principled governance over what can be modified at runtime. Design patterns such as strategy, policy engines, and plugin architectures are commonly employed.