1. A system comprising: a processor; one or more memory storage units; software code stored in the one or more memory storage units, where the software code is executable by the processor to generate a plurality of adaptive partitions and to associate one or more process threads with each of the plurality of adaptive partitions, where each of the one or more process threads has a corresponding priority in the associated adaptive partition, where each of the plurality of adaptive partitions is assigned a corresponding standard processor time budget, and where the plurality of adaptive partitions comprise at least one critical adaptive partition to which at least one critical thread is assigned, and where the at least one critical adaptive partition is assigned a critical time budget as well as a standard processor time budget; where the software code further comprises a scheduling system executable by the processor for allocating the processor to the process threads using the standard processor time budgets of the respective associated adaptive partitions, where execution of each thread of the one or more process threads of the plurality of adaptive partitions are individually attributed and accounted against the standard processor time budget of the adaptive partition associated with the executed thread; where the scheduling system allocates the processor to the at least one critical thread based on an available amount of the critical time budget of the at least one critical adaptive partition when the standard processor time budget of the at least one critical adaptive partition has been exhausted, where execution of the at least one critical thread assigned to the at least one critical adaptive partition is individually attributed and counted against the critical time budget of the at least one critical adaptive partition when the standard processor time budget of the at least one critical adaptive partition is exhausted and the processor is overloaded; where the scheduling system microbills the standard processor time budget of an adaptive partition of the plurality of adaptive partitions associated with a given thread for a processor allocation used by the given thread, where the microbillinq takes place using a time interval less than a duration of a system tick.