Final answer:
The correct answer is d) All of these. Buffering is used to cope with device speed mismatch, handle device transfer size mismatch, and to maintain copy semantics in data transfer between devices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Buffering is used in computer systems for several reasons, and the correct answer to the question is d) All of these. Buffers are temporary storage areas that help to cope with differences in the speed of various devices (device speed mismatch), they manage different transfer sizes between devices (device transfer size mismatch), and they maintain the integrity of data, referred to as copy semantics. When it comes to device speed mismatch, buffering allows one device, which may be faster, to send data to the buffer at its own speed, while a slower receiving device can read from the buffer at a pace it can handle. Similarly, for transfer size mismatch, buffers can accumulate data until there is enough to match the transfer size of the receiving device. Maintaining copy semantics means that buffers ensure data is not altered or lost in the transfer process, supporting the exact 'copied' representation of the data from source to destination.