#NETWORK KIT X MACOS REVIEW DRIVERS#
#NETWORK KIT X MACOS REVIEW DRIVER#
#NETWORK KIT X MACOS REVIEW SOFTWARE#

Threading, communication, and data-management primitives for dealing with issues related to multiprocessing, task control, and I/O-transfersĪ robust, efficient match-and-load mechanism that scales well to all bus types Many families for developers to build upon

#NETWORK KIT X MACOS REVIEW DRIVERS#

The I/O Kit supports these kernel features with its new model for device drivers and adds some additional features:Īn object-oriented framework implementing common behavior shared among all drivers and types (families) of drivers The kernel’s enforcement of protected memory-separate address spaces for kernel and user programsĬommon abstractions shared between types of devicesĮnhanced development experience-new drivers should be easy to write

Power management (for example, “sleep” mode) Many new types of devices, including graphics acceleration and multimedia devices

#NETWORK KIT X MACOS REVIEW DRIVER#

As the driver model for OS X, the I/O Kit supports the following features:ĭynamic and automatic device configuration ( plug-and-play) I/O Kit Featuresįrom its inception, the fundamental goal for the I/O Kit has been to accommodate and augment native features and capabilities of OS X, particularly those of the kernel environment. Many alternatives for communicating with hardware and networks exist at higher levels of the system, including the “device interface” feature of the I/O Kit described in Controlling Devices From Outside the Kernel See Should You Program in the Kernel? for more on alternatives to kernel programming. Indeed, programming in the kernel is discouraged except when it is absolutely necessary. Knowledge of kernel programming is therefore very useful. Also, device drivers are not the same thing as applications because, being kernel-resident, they must abide by more restrictive rules. Because the framework uses an object-oriented programming model, which is implemented in a restricted subset of C++, it helps to know C++ or object-oriented concepts in general. Once you get the basics of the I/O Kit down, you’ll find it a relatively easy and efficient matter to create device drivers.īefore you attempt driver development with the I/O Kit, Apple highly recommends certain prerequisites. The I/O Kit simplifies driver development and supports many categories of devices.

Although writing drivers for OS X requires new ways of thinking and different ways of programming, you are amply rewarded for shifting to this new approach. One thing you’ll discover reading this document is how different the approach is with the I/O Kit. You might have developed device drivers for other platforms-Mac OS 9, perhaps, or BSD or another flavor of UNIX.

#NETWORK KIT X MACOS REVIEW SOFTWARE#

It also offers some caveats and guidelines for those considering developing kernel software such as device drivers. This chapter talks about the inherent capabilities of the I/O Kit (and of the drivers developed with it), about the decisions informing its design, and about the I/O Kit when considered as a product. By modeling the hardware connected to an OS X system and abstracting common functionality for devices in particular categories, the I/O Kit streamlines the process of device-driver development. It is based on an object-oriented programming model implemented in a restricted form of C++ that omits features unsuitable for use within a multithreaded kernel. The I/O Kit is a collection of system frameworks, libraries, tools, and other resources for creating device drivers in OS X.

Network kit x macos review