Which of the following best describes a device driver?

Which of the following best describes a device driver?

• A. It translates human language into machine code
• B. It enables a device to communicate with the system
• C. It stores data on disk
• D. It renders web pages

Answer: (B)

A device driver is software that lets the operating system talk to a hardware device. The OS uses general, uniform commands, and the driver translates those into the specific signals the hardware understands, then converts the hardware’s responses back into a form the OS and applications can use. This mediation is what lets printers, graphics cards, network adapters, and other devices work correctly with the computer. Without the driver, the device can’t be used properly even if it’s connected, because the system wouldn’t know how to communicate with it. The other descriptions describe different functions: translating human language into machine code is what a compiler does, storing data on disk is handled by storage devices and file systems, and rendering web pages is a function of a browser.

A device driver is software that lets the operating system talk to a hardware device. The OS uses general, uniform commands, and the driver translates those into the specific signals the hardware understands, then converts the hardware’s responses back into a form the OS and applications can use. This mediation is what lets printers, graphics cards, network adapters, and other devices work correctly with the computer. Without the driver, the device can’t be used properly even if it’s connected, because the system wouldn’t know how to communicate with it.

The other descriptions describe different functions: translating human language into machine code is what a compiler does, storing data on disk is handled by storage devices and file systems, and rendering web pages is a function of a browser.