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I am studying Computer Architecture, and am a bit confused about the difference between device descriptors and device handlers in operating systems. Am I correct in saying that a device handler is actually a device driver?
What confuse me is that while the terms device handler and device handler appear in the course slides, I couldn't find then in the course textbook. The closest term I could find there is device driver.
Where did you find that terminology? Check how it is defined there.
If it was up to me, a "device descriptor" would be a way to describe a device, perhaps a data structure giving details on it (or some sort of reference to it, like a pointer or an index into an array of the above).
As you state, in my book a "device handler" would be some sort of routine (or a set of routines) to manage it, a driver.
