Have you ever wondered what is a driver that does this word mean? or perhaps you have wondered what is firmware? This text was using it with my students 11 years when I was teaching and examinations conclude that understood quite well. I hope you find it as useful as them.
To oversimplify:
An operating system is the "translator" between user and machine. Simply explained, is a "special program" that is responsible for receiving the keystrokes or mouse, and manage to do. It also ensures that programs (Word, games, Firefox, etc) work correctly, showing all activity on the screen. So that translates what happens inside the circuits to a visual language that humans understand, and vice versa translate our clicks of the keyboard or mouse, into a language that the circuits of the machine can understand, and thus can meet our desires.
A driver is a program that makes "translator" between Windows and firmware. For example if the Windows wants to print, it sends the data to a "special program" called "printer driver". This program translates the commands to "Printer Language" that we each make and model of printer has its "own language" and therefore need a special driver for them.
It is as if a printer speak Chinese and you put a translator who speaks French, what would happen? I would not understand anything, so the driver (the translator) should speak exactly the same language as the printer. There are also drivers for other things, USB drives, card readers, displays, sound cards, any pileup that can connect to a computer, the operating system needs a driver to translate their language commands to the connected device.
The drivers are loaded from the hard drive when Windows starts and available on PC's RAM. When the PC is turned off are deleted and reloaded on the next boot of Windows.
Firmware is a program put in a chip that is in most modern appliances, and is the "translator" between the "driver" and electronic circuits. The chip that stores the firmware program is like the USB memory contains data when power off the PC remain in the chip and are not deleted when you shut down your PC or Mac or mobile phone or any device with OS.
For example on a hard disk, when the operating system needs to load a Word file, first tells the driver that needs the word file called "loquesea.doc" the driver would translate the firmware, and finally the firmware is responsible for sending necessary for the hard disk head to move to a particular area of the hard disk electrical signals, read data, and these are sent by the reverse path (disk-to firmware, firmware driver) and finally the operating system receives driver data and can display the Word file on the screen.
The firmware, you can delete and update to a newer version (in the same way that we can erase and rewrite a file on a Pen Drive). Sometimes new versions of firmware corrects minor bugs and get that electrical signals circulating on electronic cards and chips are better controlled. Although sometimes makes things worse and even damage the device, so better not upgrade the firmware on your own, if you do not know what we're doing, because it can be dangerous to your device.
And that's it. If anything is unclear, you can write in the comments.
In the picture below is a summary of how a user works with an operating system ( Windows , Linux, Mac OS , Android , etc) get to a computer or computer, follow our orders.
To oversimplify:
An operating system is the "translator" between user and machine. Simply explained, is a "special program" that is responsible for receiving the keystrokes or mouse, and manage to do. It also ensures that programs (Word, games, Firefox, etc) work correctly, showing all activity on the screen. So that translates what happens inside the circuits to a visual language that humans understand, and vice versa translate our clicks of the keyboard or mouse, into a language that the circuits of the machine can understand, and thus can meet our desires.
A driver is a program that makes "translator" between Windows and firmware. For example if the Windows wants to print, it sends the data to a "special program" called "printer driver". This program translates the commands to "Printer Language" that we each make and model of printer has its "own language" and therefore need a special driver for them.
It is as if a printer speak Chinese and you put a translator who speaks French, what would happen? I would not understand anything, so the driver (the translator) should speak exactly the same language as the printer. There are also drivers for other things, USB drives, card readers, displays, sound cards, any pileup that can connect to a computer, the operating system needs a driver to translate their language commands to the connected device.
The drivers are loaded from the hard drive when Windows starts and available on PC's RAM. When the PC is turned off are deleted and reloaded on the next boot of Windows.
Firmware is a program put in a chip that is in most modern appliances, and is the "translator" between the "driver" and electronic circuits. The chip that stores the firmware program is like the USB memory contains data when power off the PC remain in the chip and are not deleted when you shut down your PC or Mac or mobile phone or any device with OS.
For example on a hard disk, when the operating system needs to load a Word file, first tells the driver that needs the word file called "loquesea.doc" the driver would translate the firmware, and finally the firmware is responsible for sending necessary for the hard disk head to move to a particular area of the hard disk electrical signals, read data, and these are sent by the reverse path (disk-to firmware, firmware driver) and finally the operating system receives driver data and can display the Word file on the screen.
The firmware, you can delete and update to a newer version (in the same way that we can erase and rewrite a file on a Pen Drive). Sometimes new versions of firmware corrects minor bugs and get that electrical signals circulating on electronic cards and chips are better controlled. Although sometimes makes things worse and even damage the device, so better not upgrade the firmware on your own, if you do not know what we're doing, because it can be dangerous to your device.
And that's it. If anything is unclear, you can write in the comments.
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