Abstract device driver model for the portability of device drivers across different operating system platforms

An abstract interface model for device drivers in a set-top terminal, such as for use in a cable or satellite television subscriber network. In a layered software architecture, a device driver abstract interface model allows communication between a client (112, 212) and the device driver (154, 254) regardless of the operating system (OS) under which the device driver operates. In a first embodiment, the architecture includes a dedicated (OS-specific) device driver interface (132), and a proxy uses a first abstract interface (122) to convert interface service requests from a client (112) into OS-specific calls to the device driver (154). For a client that directly accesses a dedicated (OS-specific) device driver interface (132), a second abstract interface (152) is used to convert the interface service requests into OS-specific calls to the device driver (154). Direct access to the OS-specific device driver interface (132) is therefore maintained.