I’ve heard drivers described as “the translation layer between software and hardware”
If that’s the case, then wtf does firmware do?
In: Technology
You’ve got the right idea for drivers, serving as a translation layer.
Firmware is the software that runs on the device– it’s what’s on the other end of the driver. On one end it’s talking to your operating system which talks to applications on your computer, but on the other end it talks to the firmware running on the device.
In addition to communication the firmware runs the device itself. For example, the firmware on a printer might run the display, listen to the buttons, and control the motors that advance the page and move the printer heads around. Firmware on a mouse might deal with running the RGB LEDs to make sure you know you’re a gamer, while running the optical sensor that tracks how the mouse moves.
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