LAN --
Local Area Network. On a LAN, high-speed cabling
(usually an Ethernet cable) directly connects the computers
at a single site. See also
WAN.
lexical analysis --
(programming)
Lexical analysis is
the process by which a stream of characters (often comprising
a source program) is broken up into its elementary words
and symbols, called ``tokens''.
The tokens can include the reserved words of a programming language, its
identifiers and constants, and special symbols such as ``='',
``:='', and ``;''.
Lexical analysis enables you to recognize, for instance, that the
stream of characters printf("hello, world n"); is
a series of tokens beginning with printf and not with, say,
printf("h.
In compilers, a lexical analyzer is often called
by a syntactic analyzer, or parser,
that analyzes the grammatical form of tokens passed to
it by the lexical analyzer.
library --
(programming)
A library is a file that contains object code
for a group of commonly used functions.
Rather than write the functions yourself, you arrange
for the functions to be linked with your program when
an executable is created or when it is run.
See also
archive
and
shared object.
line discipline --
(programming)
The line discipline is a STREAMS module that processes line
data in the I/O stream to control the format and
flow of data into and out of the system; for example, erase
and kill character handling.
A line discipline, unlike a filter, is part of the kernel.
See also
stream.
link --
A filename that points to another file.
Links let you access a single file from multiple
directories without storing multiple copies of the file.
If you make a change to the content of a linked file,
the change is reflected in each of the links.
All links point to an
inode.
See also
symbolic link.
link count --
The number of directory entries that pertain to an
inode. A file ceases to exist when its
link count becomes zero and it is not open.
link editing --
(programming)
Link editing refers to the process in which
a symbol referenced in one module of a program
is connected with its definition in another.
With the C compilation system, programs are linked
statically, when an executable is created,
or dynamically, when it is run.
literal --
A literal character or string is one that represents itself, that
is, that can be taken literally (as opposed to a pattern, that
represents some other characters). For a
metacharacter
to regain its literal value (for example, for 
to mean an asterisk
and not ``zero or more characters'') it must be ``quoted''. See
quoting
and
wildcard.
load average --
The utilization of the CPU measured as the
average number of processes on the run queue over a certain
period of time.
load device --
Designates the physical device from which
a program is loaded into main memory.
local host --
1. On a network, the computer that you originally logged in
to. See also
remote computer.
2. The machine on which you are currently managing a
mail transport agent like
sendmail.
locale --
The subset of a user's environment that depends on language,
customs and cultural conventions, including appropriate monetary,
date and time formatting, character conversion, sorting and text handling.
local management --
(programming)
The phase in either
connection-mode
or connectionless-mode in
which a transport user establishes a transport endpoint and binds
a transport address to the endpoint.
Functions in this phase perform local operations, and require
no transport layer traffic over the network.
locked icon --
An icon that cannot be removed from the Desktop window
except by the system administrator.
log files --
Contain records of transactions that occur on the system.
For example, when software is spooled, it generates various log files.
logical block --
A unit of data as it is handled by the software.
login --
1. The act of logging on:
you identify yourself
to the operating system by supplying a login name
(and the correct password)
response to prompts; the system then creates a process
that runs on the user's behalf.
2. An abbreviated form of ``login name''.
3. The program that controls logging on.
4. By extension, the computing session that follows a login.
log in --
The way you gain access to a UNIX system. To log in, you
enter your
login name
and
password
and the computer verifies these against its
user account
records before allowing you access.
log out --
What you do after you have finished working on a UNIX system.
Depending on your
shell,
you can log out by pressing <Ctrl>D, typing exit,
or typing logout.
login name --
The name through which you gain access to the operating
system. When you are logging onto the computer, you must
enter this login name, followed by a password.
login shell --
The
shell
that is automatically started for you when you log in. You
can start to work in other shells, but your login shell
will always exist until you log out.
See also
Bourne shell,
C shell,
and
Korn shell.
loosely coupled --
Refers to processors in a multiprocessor system where each has its
own memory.
See also
tightly coupled.
lower --
To move a window underneath all the other open windows on
the Desktop.
low water mark --
(programming)
The point at which more data is requested from a terminal because the amount
of data being processed in the character lists has fallen creating room
for more. It also applies to STREAMS queues regarding flow control.