L

language identifier: A 16-bit value that identifies a language and, where appropriate, the variant of the language being used. A language identifier is a combination of a primary language identifier and a sublanguage identifier. For example, if the primary language identifier specifies English, the sublanguage identifier might specify Australian English.
last-chance notification: The last time the kernel notifies the debugger of an exception. If the debugger does not handle an exception after last-chance notification, the kernel terminates the process being debugged. See also debugger, process.
last-error code: A per-thread value set by Win32 functions when an error occurs. The last-error code can be retrieved by using the GetLastError function.
LCID: See locale identifier.
leaf volume: A Net (formerly LAN Manager) share in a Distributed File System (Dfs) tree structure that has no junction points. Each leaf volume in a Dfs tree can be physically located on a different server. See also Distributed File System (Dfs), junction point, root volume.
license: The certificate that grants a software product the permission to run. It can be in the form of a paper certificate with manually entered information, a binary file, or a combination of the two. An LSAPI-compliant license must contain a minimum of the software publisher name, the product name, the version, four secret values, and a license policy. See also License Service Application Programming Interface (LSAPI), secret.
license policy: The terms under which a software product is granted permission to run. Examples of types of license policy include concurrent use, dynamic allocation, personal use, time-restricted, and site license.
license server: The part of a license system that runs on a file or applications server. See also license system.
License Service Application Programming Interface (LSAPI): A standardized set of functions that provides license-tracking services within applications. These services include the ability to request that the licensing system grant the application software rights to run, release those rights when they are no longer needed, and update the state of the licensing resources granted to the software product. The LSAPI specification provides a standard interface between LSAPI-enabled software and LSAPI-compliant software licensing products. See also basic challenge protocol.
license system: A software product that tracks the use of desktop applications. See also license server.
line: A set of highlighted pixels on a video display (or a series of dots on a printed page) that is defined by two points: a starting point and an ending point. See also pixel.
line and curve attributes: The width, color, style, and (in the case of lines or curves drawn with a geometric pen) end cap, join style, and transformation of a line or curve. See also end cap, geometric pen, join style, transformation.
list box: A control window that contains a list of items that can be selected by the user.
LIST chunk: A Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) chunk with a chunk identifier of LIST. LIST chunks contain a series of subchunks.
list type: A four-character code (FOURCC) identifying the type of data contained in a Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) chunk with a chunk identifier of LIST. For example, a LIST chunk with a list type of INFO contains a list of information about a file, such as the creation date and author.
load-time linking: Dynamic linking that occurs when a program (either an application or another dynamic-link library [DLL]) makes an explicit call to a DLL function. This requires that the executable module of the program be built by linking with the DLL's import library. When the program is executed, the operating system uses the information provided by the import library to locate the executable module of the DLL, which is mapped into the address space of the process. See also import library, process.
local atom: An atom stored in an application's atom table. The value of a local atom is unique within the application but may not be unique throughout the operating system. See also atom, atom table.
local atom table: See atom table.
locale identifier (LCID): A DWORD value containing the language identifer in the lower word and a reserved value in the upper word. The identifier supplied in an LCID is a standard international numeric abbreviation. This LCID has the components necessary to uniquely identify one of the installed system-defined locales.
locally unique identifier (LUID): A 64-bit value guaranteed to be unique on the operating system that generated it (until the system is restarted).
Locator: See Microsoft Locator.
logfile: A configuration registry key that specifies the filename of an event log. Logfiles are subkeys of the EventLog registration key. See also key, subkey.
logging off: The action of stopping all processes running in the security context of the process that called the Exit function.
logical brush: A description of a bitmap. A logical brush can be selected into a device context. See also bitmap, device context.
logical coordinate space: Another name for the world or page coordinate space. If an application has set a world-space to page-space transformation, the logical space is the world space; otherwise, the logical space is the page space.
logical palette: An array of colors, or "color palette," that an application creates and associates with a device context and uses for graphics output. See also device context.
logical volume: See partition.
long filemark: A filemark that contains a long erase gap that enables an application to position the tape at the beginning of the filemark and to overwrite the filemark and the erase gap. See also erase gap.
LSAPI: See License Service Application Programming Interface
LSAPI-enabled application: A desktop application that makes calls to the LSAPI function layer to register license usage. See also License Service Application Programming Interface (LSAPI).
LSAPI-compliant licensing system: A software licensing product that conforms to the LSAPI standard and supports the LSAPI interface. See also License Service Application Programming Interface (LSAPI).
LUID: See locally unique identifier.