what is a computer driver

what is a computer driver

• A hardware device (typically a transistor) that provides signals or electrical current to activate a transmission line or display screen pixel.
• Also called a "device driver," it is a program routine that links the operating system to a peripheral device. Written by programmers who understand the peripheral hardware's command language and characteristics, the driver contains the precise machine language necessary to perform the functions requested by the application.
  

A computer driver is a program that controls a device. Every device, whether it be a printer, disk drive, or keyboard, must have a driver program. Many drivers, such as the keyboard adriver, come with the operating system. For other devices, you may need to load a new driver when you connect the device to your computer.

In DOS systems, drivers are files with a.SYS extension. In Windows environments, drivers often have a.DRV extension.

It acts like a translator between the device and programs that use the device. Each device has its own set of specialized commands that only its driver knows.

In contrast, most programs access devices by using generic commands. The driver, therefore, accepts generic commands from a program and then translates them into specialized commands for the device.