Windows Driver API Reference

This section provides comprehensive documentation for the Windows driver model, including APIs for developing drivers for various hardware and software components. Whether you're building kernel-mode or user-mode drivers, this reference will guide you through the necessary interfaces and frameworks.

Introduction to Windows Driver Development

Developing drivers for Windows involves understanding the operating system's architecture and the specific APIs provided for hardware interaction. The primary goal is to ensure stable, efficient, and secure communication between hardware and the operating system.

Kernel-Mode Drivers

Kernel-mode drivers operate in the most privileged part of the operating system and have direct access to hardware. They are essential for core system functionality.

Device Drivers

These drivers manage specific hardware devices, such as network cards, graphics cards, or storage controllers. They are responsible for translating I/O requests from applications and the OS into hardware-specific commands.

Filter Drivers

Filter drivers sit above or below existing drivers in the driver stack. They can intercept, modify, or add functionality to I/O requests before they reach their intended destination.

Filesystem Drivers

These drivers manage access to storage devices by implementing filesystem structures and operations, allowing the OS to read from and write to disks, partitions, and other storage media.

User-Mode Drivers

User-mode drivers execute in a less privileged environment, offering improved stability and security. They are ideal for devices where direct kernel access is not strictly necessary.

User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF)

UMDF provides an object-oriented, event-driven model for developing user-mode drivers. It simplifies driver development by abstracting many low-level details.

Key Concepts:

Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF)

KMDF is a framework for developing kernel-mode drivers that simplifies many of the complexities associated with the Windows Driver Model (WDM). It provides an object-oriented approach.

Key Concepts:

Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)

The HAL provides a consistent interface to hardware for the operating system kernel, regardless of the underlying hardware architecture. Drivers interact with the HAL for low-level hardware operations.

Device Management

Understanding how Windows discovers, configures, and manages devices is crucial. This includes Plug and Play (PnP) management and Power Management.

I/O Model

The Windows I/O model is based on I/O Request Packets (IRPs) for WDM drivers and I/O Request Objects for WDF drivers. Drivers process these requests to interact with hardware or other drivers.

Specific APIs and Frameworks

Windows Driver Framework (WDF)

WDF is the recommended framework for most driver development, encompassing both UMDF and KMDF. It provides a consistent, object-oriented, and event-driven programming model.

Key WDF Functions:

NTDDK.H Functions

These are core kernel-mode driver functions, primarily used in WDM drivers. They provide low-level access to system services and hardware.

Example:

VOID
KeInitializeEvent(
  _Inout_ PRKEVENT Event,
  _In_ KEVENT_TYPE Type
);

WDM Functions

The Windows Driver Model (WDM) is the foundational driver architecture. While WDF is often preferred, understanding WDM is essential for advanced scenarios and legacy drivers.

Error Handling in Drivers

Robust error handling is critical for driver stability. This involves proper error code management, logging, and graceful failure mechanisms.

Note: Always return appropriate status codes (e.g., STATUS_SUCCESS, STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER) for I/O operations.

Debugging Drivers

Debugging kernel-mode and user-mode drivers requires specialized tools and techniques, such as WinDbg, kernel debugging, and driver verifier.

Tip: Use KdPrint or DbgPrintEx for kernel-mode logging and OutputDebugString for user-mode.

Further Reading