◄Up► ◄Next► ◄Previous► ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Microsoft Windows uses device drivers and dynamic-link libraries (DLL) to support a variety of features, such as audio adapters and language-specific sorting. Many such drivers incorporate the Microsoft Windows installable driver interface, which allows Windows and Windows applications to install and use a driver by using a generic set of functions. About the Audio Drivers An audio driver is a dynamic-link library that provides a set of functions Windows applications can use to generate sounds through an audio device. For more information about audio drivers, see the Microsoft Windows Installation and Update Guide. About the Language Libraries A language library is a dynamic-link library that provides a set of functions that Windows applications can use to sort characters in foreign languages. Microsoft provides a default set of language libraries that cover a wide range of languages. About the Installable-Driver Interface An installable driver is a dynamic-link library that exports a DriverProc function and processes messages, such as DRV_OPEN and DRV_CONFIG, which are sent to the function. Although the standard Windows device drivers, such as the display, keyboard, mouse, and printer drivers, do not use this interface, it is recommended that the interface be used in all other device drivers. One advantage of using the installable driver interface is that a driver can be installed using the Drivers icon in Control Panel. This eliminates the need to develop a custom-installation program for each driver. For more information about the installable driver interface, see the Microsoft Windows Programmer's Reference in the Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). ♦