What is PNP?

Plug and Play
Hardware-installation problems cost users and vendors substantial amounts
of time, money and good will. PC makers say more than 50 percent of serviced s
upport calls involve the installation and configuration of hardware and softwa
re. And frustrated users often return boards because they can't get them work
properly.
Plug and Play(PnP) is designed to make many of these problems disappear. T
he de facto standard, which Microsoft Corp. adopted ins Windows 95 operating s
ystem, was developed to make PCs easier to configure and upgrade. Rather than
having to set switches and interupt requests when adding a board, users canmpl
y plug a board in. The board identifies itself to the operating system and the
operating system, which incorporates a variety of device drivers for many pro
ducts, automatically selects and loads the correct driver.
For PnP to work, three elements must be in place. First, add-on boards,ch
as SCSI or network interface cards, and peripherals, such as monitors and prin
ters, must be modified to work with PnP.
However, as a second condition, the PC must have a PnP BIOS(basic input/ou
tput system).
Finally, the operating system must support PnP. Windows 95 is the firstch
operating system, which is why PnP has been waiting in the shadows untilw.
Initially, only brand new systems are likely to incorporate all three PnP
components. Even if the system contains a PnP BIOS, and many shipped withine l
ast six months do, it will still likely contain some legacy boards——that is,
ISA boards that are not PnP compatible. In such systems, Windows 95 will auto
matically configure all the PnP components, but the user will still have confi
gure the non-PnP components manually, a situation jokingly referred to as "Plu
g and Tell" because the user has to tell the operating system what the board i
s and how to configure it.
Still, PnP is likely to reduce the technical support costs for PC usersama
tically as well as make it easier to procure a variety of PC peripherals.
Plug and Play is essential to achieving the long-term user-friendliness t
hat we all want in computers.
People will really capitalize on the benefits of information technologyen
the PC works like the VCR.
Many manufacturers have products on the market that are PnP-compatible,t t
he manufacturers haven't touted that fact. It's not the kind thing vendors wan
t to advertise when the software that you need to run it on isn't available.
Users don't see the value yet. As they start to use Windows 95, they'llgin
to realize the benefits of Plug and Play.
Buyersnting to ensure they get PnP systems and components should look for
the Windows 95 logo. Microsoft won't let you use the Windows 95 logo unlessu h
ave PnP compliance.
Specifically, the Windows 95 logo means that the device will be automatic
ally configured by Windows 95 and that Windows 95 includes a driver for that p
aritcular device.
【参考译文】
插入即用
硬件安装问题花费了用户和供应商的大量时间、资金和良好的愿望。PC机制造商们称
,50%以上的服务和支持电话与软硬件的安装和配置有关。沮丧的用户常常把板子退回去,因
为他们无法使这些板正确工作。
插入即用(PnP)的设计就是旨在使很多这样的问题不再出现。这个事实上的标准在微软
的Windows 95操作系统中已被采纳,使PC机较易配置和升级。用户在加入一块板子时再不必
设置开关、中断请求,只需简单地插入板子即可。板子自己就让操作系统来识别,而操作系
统装有多种产品的各种不同设备驱动程序,并自动选择和装入正确的驱动程序。
要使PnP工作,必须有三样东西。首先是扩展板(如SCSI或网络接口板)、外部设备(如监
视器和打印机)等,它们都必须经过修改,以便能与PnP一起工作。
然而,作为第二个条件,PC机必须拥有PnP BIOS(基本输入/输出系统)。
最后,操作系统必须支持PnP。Windows 95是第一个这样的操作系统,这就是为什么PnP
直到现在才走出阴影。
起初,也许只有崭新的系统可能完整地装有上述三个PnP部件。即使系统包含有PnPOS,
过去六个月中交付的很多系统确实如此,但是仍有一些可能装有陈旧的板子,即ISA总线的板
子,它们与PnP是不兼容的。在这样的系统中,Windows 95能自动配置所有PnP部件,但用户还
不得不人工配置非PnP部件,这种情况被戏称为"插入告诉",因为用户必须告诉操作系统是什
么样的板子和如何配置。
对PC用户来说,PnP有可能大大降低技术支持的成本,而且也使购买各种外部设备变得容
易。
插入即用对获得我们梦寐以求的计算机长期的用户友好性是必不可少的。当PC机如录
像机那样工作时,人们将真正能利用信息技术带来的好处。
很多制造厂商已把与PnP兼容的产品推上市场,但他们没有用这一事实招揽生意。这可
能是当运行它们所需的软件还得不到时,厂商们不想对此做广告。
用户现在还没有看到它们的价值。当他们开始使用Windows 95时,他们将开始体会到插
入即用的好处。
买主想要确保得到PnP系统和部件,就应该寻找Windows 95的标志。微软公司是不会让
你用Windows 95标志的,除非你做到符合PnP了。
具体讲,Windows 95的标志意味着该设备能由Windows 95自动配置,同时也意味着Wind
ows 95包含了这个特定设备的驱动程序。