## Storage Device Driver Reference

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### Glossary - H

H

handle - (1) An identifier that represents an object, such as a device or a window, to the Presentation Interface. (2) In the Advanced DOS and OS/2 operating systems, a binary value created by the system that identifies a drive, directory, and file so that the file can be found and opened.

handshaking - A method by which two pieces of hardware, such as a personal computer and a plotter, can communicate. Depending upon the devices communicating, handshaking occurs either as a hardware function or through software, such as a device driver.

hard error - An error condition on a network that requires that the network be reconfigured or that the source of the error be removed before the network can resume reliable operation.

hardware palette - The array of RGBs that the physical device is displaying .

heap - An area of free storage available for dynamic allocation by an application. Its size varies depending on the storage requirements of the application.

hex - See hexadecimal

hexadecimal - Pertaining to a system of numbers to the base 16; hexadecimal digits range from 0 through 9 and A through F, where A represents 10 and F represents 15.

hook - A point in a system-defined function where an application can supply additional code that the system processes as though it were part of the function.

hook chain - A sequence of hook procedures that are "chained" together so that each event is passed in turn to each procedure in the chain.