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 publisher 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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