Windows 2000 provides a rich architecture for applications to exploit. Of course, this richness comes at a price that device driver authors (among others) will have to pay. The I/O processing scheme of Windows 2000 is complex and the need to keep a view of the "big picture" is difficult, but necessary. At this point, there should be a good understanding of what kinds of drivers exist (and where they fit) in Windows 2000. The next chapter begins a discussion of the hardware that drivers must control. An overview of the various buses that are supported by Windows 2000 is presented.
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