Device drivers

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. What does a device driver do?

A It lets the operating system communicate with a piece of hardware

B It makes the hardware physically bigger and stronger

2. A driver is a type of...

A Software

B Hardware

3. You plug in a brand new printer and it does not print. What might be missing?

A The correct driver for the printer

B More paper in the keyboard

4. Which statement about plug and play is correct?

A You must always write the driver yourself before the device works

B The operating system finds the device and sets up a driver automatically

5. Why might you update a driver?

A To turn the device into a different type of hardware

B To fix problems and help the device work better with the operating system

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1device driver		AThe operating system detects a new device and installs a suitable driver automatically
2plug and play		Bupdate graphics driver
3A new printer may need a driver before the operating system can use it		CA printer needs a driver to work. Plug and play only means the driver may be installed automatically.
4Updating a driver gives the operating system the latest instructions for talking to the hardware		Dinstall printer driver
5A driver is hardware that you plug into the computer		ESoftware that lets the operating system communicate with a piece of hardware
6Plug in a new printer and it always works without any driver		FA driver is software, not hardware. It lets the operating system communicate with a device.

Definitions

device driver

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

A driver lets the __ talk to hardware

Plug and ____ finds a driver automatically

A new _______ may need a driver installed

______ drivers to fix device problems

Program -> OS -> ______ -> hardware

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A driver_installed = False

B device = "printer"

C if driver_installed = False:

D print("Install the driver")

Question 2

A device = "new printer"

B has_driver = false

C if not has_driver:

D print("Needs a driver")

Question 3

A def install_driver(device):

B print("Installing" device)

C install_driver("printer")

Question 4

A plug_and_play = True

B device = "USB mouse"

C if plug_and_play == True

D print("Works right away")

Question 5

A version = 1

B update_ready = True

C if update_ready:

D version = version - 1

E print("Driver version", version)

Answer Key

Device drivers

Section A: Quick Questions

A — It lets the operating system communicate with a piece of hardware

A — Software

A — The correct driver for the printer

B — The operating system finds the device and sets up a driver automatically

B — To fix problems and help the device work better with the operating system

Section B: Match the Pairs

device driver → Software that lets the operating system communicate with a piece of hardware

plug and play → The operating system detects a new device and installs a suitable driver automatically

A new printer may need a driver before the operating system can use it → install printer driver

Updating a driver gives the operating system the latest instructions for talking to the hardware → update graphics driver

A driver is hardware that you plug into the computer → A driver is software, not hardware. It lets the operating system communicate with a device.

Plug in a new printer and it always works without any driver → A printer needs a driver to work. Plug and play only means the driver may be installed automatically.

Section C: Definitions

device driver — Software that lets the operating system talk to a piece of hardware, such as a printer, so the device works properly.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

A driver lets the OS talk to hardware

Plug and play finds a driver automatically

A new printer may need a driver installed

Update drivers to fix device problems

Program -> OS -> driver -> hardware

Section E: Spot the Error

C — A single = assigns a value. To check whether the driver is missing, the if line needs the comparison operator ==: if driver_installed == False:

B — Python's Boolean value is False with a capital F. Writing false causes a NameError. It should be has_driver = False.

B — The items inside print() must be separated by a comma. It should be print("Installing", device).

C — An if statement must end with a colon. It should be if plug_and_play == True: so the device works right away with plug and play.

D — Updating a driver moves it to a newer version, so the number should go up. It should be version = version + 1.