Foreword

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[oR]

Drivers are the most fundamental and technically difficult part of operating system development. As a reader of this book, you are probably well aware of the complexities involved. Even for the most seasoned software engineer the task can be daunting. Writing device drivers under Windows 2000 is a big challenge to learn. The most comprehensive, authoritative guide to Windows NT driver development, The Windows NT Device Driver Book by Art Baker is now a classic. I can not think of anyone better qualified to write the second edition of Art's outstanding book than Jerry Lozano. Jerry combines the qualities of strong technologist, excellent writer, and gifted educator. These qualities have translated into book form very well. Reading this book I felt I was taking one of Jerry's classes.

There are two kinds of books. Some books provide reference information that very much read like an encyclopedia. Such books are picked up occasionally to answer a specific question. Other books are tutorial in nature. They are designed to be read from front to back in order to transfer the knowledge and skill necessary to perform a task.

The Windows 2000 Device Driver Book, like its predecessor, falls clearly into the latter category. It is intended to be used as an instructional guide for device driver authors. Unlike other books on the subject, this book does not attempt to reproduce the DDK. The DDK stands as the definitive reference on the Windows 2000 device driver technology. Instead, The Windows 2000 Device Driver Book provides the guiding information needed to successfully master W2K driver development. This book gives developers the knowledge to design, write, and debug Windows 2000 devices, and is based on a course Jerry created and teaches for UCI. Based on feedback from the course, Jerry found that one of the biggest problems device driver and kernel-mode code developers face is the lack of clear, concise technical information on driver models, kernel mode programming, and hardware interfaces. In this book Jerry has succeeded in solving this problem with detailed examples and informative coverage in all areas, and presenting it with exceptional clarity.

As the book went to press, it was clear that another chapter was highly desirable. The chapter concerns USB and IEEE 1394 driver specifics. The revision author has generously agreed to include this chapter on the book's companion web site: http://www.W2KDriverBook.com. Readers that need this information should visit this informative site.

Andrew Scoppa

President

UCI Software Technical Training

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