Glossary

Name the object and its function

A driver is a host-side communication component; it is not the physical printer, adapter, speaker, or panel. An interface exposes a function. The function can belong to a component or device. A printer can expose printing and scanning interfaces, while a laptop can expose a keyboard, touchpad, and wireless interface through different paths. The nouns stay separate even when one product label covers them all.

An endpoint is a specific source or destination for data. A bus provides a shared path and conventions for finding participants. A USB audio interface can have playback and capture endpoints, while a hub connects devices without becoming their function. That distinction matters. A connection can exist before a particular stream or queue is ready.

Read records as evidence

A hardware ID identifies a device or family for matching; it does not describe every capability. A manifest records a bundle’s contents or identity. An INF-style association record describes matching and file relationships, while a signed catalog binds files to integrity and a signing-organization assertion. Terms have owners. Each record answers one question. It should not be asked to prove another.

Firmware is persistent code close to the component. A host driver is a communication layer around it. Version identity becomes meaningful only after its owner is named: firmware, a file, a bundle, or a running element may each carry a different number. The layers differ. A change in one does not automatically state what happened in another.

Describe behavior with the right term

A protocol gives messages a format and meaning; a transport carries those messages. A queue orders work, while a buffer holds data across a timing gap. An interrupt is a signal that asks for attention, not a diagnosis of the device that sent it. On a printer, those terms can describe a job path; on audio hardware, they describe a stream path with different timing demands.

A capability is a declared function, such as a printer’s media choice or a monitor’s mode, rather than a promise that every path can use it. A class driver describes shared behavior across a family, while a vendor extension adds narrower behavior. Use those terms in context: identify the component, interface, transport, record, and state being described.

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