1.2.1.7 Device Drivers

Question 1

What are Device Drivers?

Answer 1

• Device drivers are computer programs which are provided by the operating system and allow the operating system to interact with hardware.

Question 2

How do Device Drivers work?

Answer 2

• When a piece of hardware is used, such as a keyboard, it is the device driver that communicates this request to the
  operating system which can then produce the relevant output - which in this case is displaying a letter on the screen.
• Device drivers are specific to the computer’s architecture, so different drivers must be used for different device types such as:

Smartphones
Games consoles
Desktop PCs

• As drivers interact with the operating system, they are also specific to the operating system installed on the
  device.

Question 3

How are Device Drivers an example of Abstraction?

Answer 3

• You are able to interact with hardware without knowing details of how this works.