Q-S

queue synchronization scope

A WDF synchronization mechanism in which the framework acquires a presentation lock at the queue object level.

race condition

A situation in which two or more routines attempt to access the same data and the result of the operation depends upon the order in which the access occurs.

raise an exception

A deliberate transfer of control to an exception handler when an exception occurs. A kernel-mode component, including any kernel-mode driver, cannot raise an exception while running at IRQL >= DISPATCH_LEVEL without crashing the system.

raised IRQL

Any interrupt request level that is greater than PASSIVE_LEVEL.

raw resource list

A list of hardware resources that the PnP manager assigns to a device. The raw resource list reflects the physical design of the device.

reflector

A filter driver at the top of the kernel-mode device stack that facilitates communication between the kernel-mode device stack and all of the UMDF drivers on the system.

request completion callback

A driver-implemented function that is called at the driver's request after the completion of an I/O request that the driver created or sent down the stack.

root-enumerated device

A device whose devnode is a child of the root device in the PnP manager's device tree.

scatter/gather DMA

A form of DMA in which data is transferred to and from noncontiguous ranges of physical memory.

scatter/gather list

A list of one or more paired base addresses and lengths that describe the physical locations from which to transfer data in scatter/gather DMA.

SDV

Static Driver Verifier

security descriptor

A data structure used to hold per-object security information, including the object's owner, group, protection attributes, and audit information.

security violation

An attempt by a user-mode process to access an object without having the correct access rights for the requested operation.

sequential dispatch

A queue dispatching technique in which a queue delivers I/O requests to the driver one at a time, only after the previously dispatched request has been completed or requeued.

serialization

The management of two concurrent items of the same class, such as callback functions or I/O requests, to prevent their concurrent operation.

setup class GUID

A GUID that identifies a device setup class.

sleep state

A system or device power state other than the system or device working state, S0 or D0.

software driver

A driver that does not control any hardware, either directly or through a protocol such as USB.

spin lock

A synchronization object that ensures mutually exclusive access at DISPATCH_LEVEL.

static analysis

A testing method that involves examining the source or object code of a program without executing the code, typically to detect coding errors.

static verification

The use of static analysis to verify that the program complies with a specification or protocol.

structured exception handling

A system feature that supports controlled transfers to exception handlers when certain runtime exceptions occur.

surprise removal

The unexpected removal of a device by a user without using the Device Manager or Safely Remove Programs application.

symbolic link

(1) An instance of the symbolic link object type, representing a "soft alias" that equates one name to another within the object manager's name space. (2) A file object with special properties. When a symbolic link file is encountered as a component of a path name, rather than opening the file itself, the file system is redirected to a target file.

system working state

System state S0, the fully on, fully operational power state.

symbol file

A file that contains information about an executable image, including the names and addresses of functions and variables.

symbolic link name

A name for a device that is typically created only by older drivers that run with applications that use MS-DOS device names to access a device.

synchronization

A general term for the management of operations that share data or resources to ensure that access to such shared resources occurs in a controlled manner.

synchronization scope

A configurable object-based mechanism through which a driver can specify the degree of concurrency for certain object callbacks.

SYS

The file extension used for kernel-mode driver binaries.

system event log

A file that contains a record of system events.

system power state

The level of power consumption by the system as a whole. System power states range from S0 to S5, where S0 is the fully-on working state and S5 is the completely powered-down state.