問76
頻出度★☆☆
周辺機器を PC に接続したとき, システムへのデバイスドライバの組込みや設定を自動的に行う機能はどれか。
平成23年度 秋期 ITパスポート試験 問76
テクノロジ系コンピュータ構成要素 › 入出力デバイス
This question's explanation and your answers so far.
解説
問 76
Incorrectア
Autocomplete is an input-assist function: while the user is typing, it guesses candidate entries from past input history or a dictionary and displays them, and the rest is completed simply by selecting one. It is used in the address bar and search box of web browsers, in cell entry in spreadsheet software, and so on. What it acts on is only the character string the user types, and it has nothing at all to do with detecting peripheral devices or installing device drivers, so it is wrong.
Incorrectイ
Slot-in refers to a physical mechanism or form factor of devices such as optical drives: instead of pulling out a tray, you push the disc directly into a narrow slit-shaped opening and it is drawn inside and loaded. It only describes the mechanical way in which a disc is inserted and ejected, and does not mean automating the installation or configuration of device drivers, which are software, so it is wrong.
- ウ
正解 The correct answer is ウ. Plug and Play (PnP) is a mechanism in which, when a peripheral device is connected to a PC, the OS automatically detects the device and automatically carries out both the installation of the matching device driver and the allocation and configuration of resources such as interrupt numbers and I/O addresses. The name comes from the idea that once you plug it in (Plug), you can use it right away (Play). Before Plug and Play became widespread, users had to install a driver by hand for each device and adjust the settings so that it would not conflict with other devices, and devices often failed to work because of configuration mistakes. Today many interfaces, USB above all, support Plug and Play: when the OS detects that a device has been connected, it installs a standard driver that is already available, or obtains a driver as needed and configures it automatically. Note that USB, IEEE 1394 and similar interfaces are often used together with hot plugging (attaching and detaching a device while the PC is still powered on), but hot plugging refers to being able to connect and disconnect without turning off the power, which is a different focus from Plug and Play, whose point is automating the installation and configuration of drivers. What corresponds directly to the wording of the question, a function that automatically installs and configures the device driver in the system, is Plug and Play, so ウ is correct.
Incorrectエ
A plug-in is a small program that is added afterwards to application software such as a web browser or image-editing software in order to extend its functions. Its name resembles Plug and Play and is easy to confuse with it, but what gets extended is the functionality of an application, and its target is software. It is not a function by which the OS automatically installs a driver when a peripheral device, which is hardware, is connected, so it is wrong.
ここがポイント
- Definition of Plug and Play: when a peripheral device is connected, the OS automatically detects the device and automatically installs the device driver and allocates and configures resources such as interrupt numbers and I/O addresses. It removes the need to install drivers and adjust settings by hand, so the device is ready to use as soon as it is plugged in.
- Telling apart the confusable look-alike terms: a plug-in is an add-on program that adds functions to an application afterwards, autocomplete is a text-input completion function, and slot-in is a physical loading mechanism in which the disc is pushed straight in. Also keep in mind that hot plugging, attaching and detaching a device while the power is on, is a concept separate from Plug and Play.
用語