hardware-specific code

noun

UK /ˈhɑːdweə spəˈsɪfɪk kəʊd/

US /ˈhɑːrdwer spəˈsɪfɪk koʊd/

Computer instructions written to work only on one particular kind of machine.

The game runs fast because it uses hardware-specific code for the graphics card.

SYNONYMS

machine-dependent code platform-specific code device-specific code native code

RELATED WORDS

firmware driver assembly language instruction set portability

OTHER MEANINGS

2. Code that relies on features of a certain processor family.

That library contains hardware-specific code for ARM chips.

3. Low-level routines tuned to a single device model.

The printer driver includes hardware-specific code for each model.

4. Software that must be rewritten to run on different machines.

Because of its hardware-specific code, the program could not run on the new server.