driverspecific

Driver-specific is a term used in operating system and embedded software development to describe code, data, interfaces, or behavior that is unique to a particular device driver and not part of a shared, generic API. It contrasts with driver-agnostic functionality, which is designed to work across multiple devices. Driver-specific elements enable a driver to implement hardware features, quirks, or optimizations that cannot be expressed through a universal interface.

In practice, driver-specific content includes per-device state stored in driver-private data structures, device registers or memory regions accessed through the driver, and commands or options such as IOCTLs that are defined only for that driver.

Examples appear in various platforms. Linux uses per-device state via dev_set_drvdata and dev_get_drvdata; IOCTL codes may be defined as driver-specific. Windows drivers implement private IOCTLs using CTL_CODE and expose them to trusted user-mode applications.

Benefits include the ability to implement hardware-specific features efficiently. Risks involve tighter coupling to a particular driver, reduced portability, and greater maintenance burden if interfaces change.

Best practices emphasize keeping driver-specific logic isolated behind stable, well-documented interfaces, avoiding leakage into generic subsystems, and providing safe fallbacks or abstractions where possible.

The concept is common in driver development, kernel code, and embedded systems, where hardware variation requires specialized software paths.