alt Hacker NewsIt's extreme to demonstrate the point, but it's not contrived. Realtime deadlines are a completely normal requirement for the systems I work on. I have change reqs on my desk right now that specify a full reboot back to network responsiveness in <=300ms. That definitely changes how the system is designed.
It being extreme is what makes it contrived.
It's also a requirement programmers often overemphasise due to the McNamara fallacy.