Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In computers, a printer driver or a print processor is a piece of software on a computer that converts the data to be printed to a format that a printer can understand. The purpose of printer drivers is to allow applications to do printing without being aware of the technical details of each printer model.
Previously, the WDK was known as the Driver Development Kit (DDK) [4] and supported Windows Driver Model (WDM) development. It got its current name when Microsoft released Windows Vista and added the following previously separated tools to the kit: Installable File System Kit (IFS Kit), Driver Test Manager (DTM), though DTM was later renamed and removed from WDK again.
Windows Driver Frameworks (WDF, formerly Windows Driver Foundation), is a set of Microsoft tools and libraries that aid in the creation of device drivers for Windows 2000 and later versions of Windows. It complements Windows Driver Model, abstracting away much of the boilerplate complexity in writing Windows drivers.
In older versions of Windows, programs which linked against MSVCRT.DLL were expected to install a compatible copy in the System32 folder, but this contributed to DLL Hell because many installers failed to check the library version against the installed version before replacing it.
However, Windows 10 64-bit drivers now need to be signed by Microsoft. Therefore, device vendors have to submit their drivers to Microsoft for testing and approval. The driver installation package includes all files in the .inf directory, and all files in the package need to be installed, otherwise the installation of the device driver may fail.
Windows includes the IExpress tool for the creation of INF-based installations. INF files form part of the Windows Setup API and of its successor, Windows Installer. The \windows\inf directory contains several such .inf files. [3] Precompiled setup Information file (*.pnf) is a binary representation of an INF file compiled by the operating system.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
\Windows. Windows itself is installed into this folder. \System \System32 \SysWOW64: These folders store dynamic-link library (DLL) files that implement the core features of Windows and Windows API. Any time a program asks Windows to load a DLL file and do not specify a path, these folders are searched after program's own folder is searched. [5] "