## Graphics Adapter Device Driver Reference

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### Glossary - P

P

palette - A list of colors assigned to various areas on a panel. A user can change the color of these areas.

PDD - Physical Device Driver.

PDE - PageDirectoryEntry.

pel - Picture element.

permissible action - In a conceptual schema language, an action conforming to specified rules or constraints that changes a presumably consistent collection of sentences into a consistent one or makes known a consistent one present in the information base or conceptual schema.

phase alignment - Aligning source bits with destination bits. Often required in a Bitblt function move operation where byte blocks are moved on bit boundaries.

physical address - A 32-bit byte address giving the actual address in physical storage for a data item.

physical device driver (PDD) - A system interface that handles hardware interrupts and supports a set of input and output functions.

pipe - See named pipe, unnamed pipe.

picture element (pel, pixel) - (1) In computer graphics, the smallest element of a display surface that can be independently assigned color and intensity. (T) . (2) The area of the finest detail that can be reproduced effectively on the recording medium. (3) An element of a raster pattern about which a toned area on a photoconductor can appear.

PIO - Programmed I/O.

pixel - Picture element.

polyfillet - A curve based on a sequence of lines. The curve is tangential to the end points of the first and last lines, and tangential also to the midpoints of all other lines.

polyline - In computer graphics, a sequence of adjoining lines.

pop - To remove an item from the top of a pushdown list. Contrast with push .

prefetch - To locate and load a quantity of data in anticipation of a request.

presence-check function - A Ring 3 (non-privileged) .EXE program that determines whether a given hardware interface is present on a workstation.

PRESENCECHECK - A keyword, interpreted by the DDINSTAL utility, to determine whether to process the device driver profile file, based on the return code from PRESENCECHECK.

printer driver - A file that describes the physical characteristics of a printer, plotter, or other peripheral device, and is used to convert graphics and text into device-specific data at the time of printing or plotting.

Print Manager - In the Presentation Manager, the part of the spooler that manages the spooling process. It also allows the user to view print queues and to manipulate print jobs.

privilege level - A method of protection that allows only certain program instructions to be used by certain programs.

program group - Several programs that can be acted upon as a single entity.

protect mode - A method of program operation that limits or prevents access to certain instructions or areas of storage. Contrast with real mode.

push - To add an item to the top of a pushdown list. Contrast with pop.