what means online / offline render?

The Reaper User Guide v 2.5 says nothing about that and i haven't found an explanation here either. I'm always using the default setting without understanding why and what "Full-speed Offline" 1 x Offline" or "Online Render" mean. Michael

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm missing something here: Full Speed Offline - Render project as fast as possible and you won't hear anything while it happens 1 x Offline - Render project at the same speed as playing it, but you won't hear anything during render. Online - Play the project (you will hear it) and render at the same time.

And can we punch in/out without glitches using the last one? Maybe it needs some sort of auto crossfades...