Browse the Glossary - L (original) (raw)

• labor law - Labor law is legislation specifying responsibilities and rights in employment, particularly the responsibilities of the employer and the rights of the employee.
• laboratory information system (LIS) - A laboratory information system (LIS) is computer software that processes, stores and manages data from patient medical processes and tests.
• lambda - Lambda, the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, is used as both a symbol and a concept in various fields of science, mathematics and computing.
• Lambda architecture - Lambda architecture is an approach to big data management that provides access to batch processing and near real-time processing with a hybrid approach.
• LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) - LAMP is an open source Web development platform that uses Linux as the operating system, Apache as the Web server, MySQL as the relational database management system and PHP as the object-oriented scripting language.
• LangChain - LangChain is an open source framework that lets software developers working with artificial intelligence (AI) and its machine learning subset combine large language models with other external components to develop LLM-powered applications.
• laptop - A laptop, sometimes called a notebook computer by manufacturers, is a battery- or AC-powered personal computer (PC) smaller than a briefcase.
• large language model operations (LLMOps) - Large language model operations (LLMOps) is a methodology for managing, deploying, monitoring and maintaining LLMs in production environments.
• LARP (Live Action Role Playing) - LARP (Live Action Role Playing), also called LARPing, is a character-driven type of gameplay that is conducted in the physical world.
• laser - A laser is a coherent and focused beam of photons; coherent, in this context, means that it is all one wavelength, unlike ordinary light which showers on us in many wavelengths.
• laser printer - A laser printer is a popular type of computer printer that uses a non-impact photocopier technology where there are no keys striking the paper.
• last mile delivery - Last mile delivery is a term used for transportation of merchandise from the nearest distribution hub to the final destination, such as a home or business.
• latency - Latency is the delay from the input into a system to a desired outcome.
• latitude and longitude - Latitude and longitude are parameters or coordinates that help determine the location of any place on Earth.
• law of large numbers - The law of large numbers is a principle of probability according to which the frequencies of events with the same likelihood of occurrence even out, given enough trials or instances.
• law of unintended consequences - The law of unintended consequences is a frequently-observed phenomenon in which any action has results that are not part of the actor's purpose.
• Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) - Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) is an extension of the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) used by an internet service provider (ISP) to enable the operation of a virtual private network (VPN) over the internet.
• LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) - LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is a type of flat panel display which uses liquid crystals in its primary form of operation.
• LDAP injection - LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) injection is a type of security exploit that is used to compromise the authentication process used by some websites.
• lead generation - Lead generation involves identifying and attracting potential customers, then nurturing and, ultimately, converting them into paying customers.
• leadership - Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of people to influence and guide followers or members of an organization, society or team.
• leaky bucket algorithm - The leaky bucket algorithm is a "traffic shaping" algorithm to reduce the load the transport layer places on the network layer and reduce congestion in the network.
• leaky pipeline - A leaky pipeline is a system designed to channel something from one place to another that is flawed in such a way that it loses some quantity of what it carries before it reaches the destination.
• lean management - Lean management is an approach to managing an organization that supports the concept of continuous improvement, a long-term approach to work that systematically seeks to achieve small, incremental changes in processes in order to improve efficiency and quality.
• lean manufacturing (lean production) - Lean manufacturing is a methodology that focuses on minimizing waste within manufacturing systems while simultaneously maximizing productivity.
• Lean Six Sigma - Lean Six Sigma is a data-driven approach to improving efficiency, customer satisfaction and profits.
• Lean software development - Lean software development is a concept that emphasizes optimizing efficiency and minimizing waste in the development of software.
• Lean startup - Lean startup is an approach to building new businesses based on the belief that entrepreneurs must investigate, experiment, test and iterate as they develop products.
• lean water spider - Lean water spider, or water spider, is a term used in manufacturing that refers to a position in a production environment or warehouse.
• LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol) - LEAP (Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol) is a Cisco-proprietary version of EAP, the authentication protocol used in wireless networks and Point-to-Point connections.
• learning experience platform (LXP) - A learning experience platform (LXP) is an artificial intelligence (AI) driven peer learning platform delivered using software as a service.
• leased line - A leased line is a bidirectional telephone line that has been rented for private voice, data exchange or telecommunication use.
• ledger database - A ledger database is somewhat modern and commonly refers to a type of database that uses cryptographic techniques, including blockchain, to secure data and enable an immutable ledger.
• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, more commonly known as LEED, is an environmentally oriented building certification program run by the U.
• leet speak (leet) - Leet speak, also known as simply leet, is the substitution of a word's letters with numbers or special characters.
• legacy platform (legacy operating system) - A legacy platform, also called a legacy operating system, is an operating system (OS) no longer in widespread use, or that has been supplanted by an updated version of earlier technology.
• legacy system (legacy application) - A legacy system is any outdated computing system, hardware or software that is still in use.
• legal health record (LHR) - A legal health record (LHR) refers to documentation about a patient's personal health information that is created by a healthcare organization or provider.
• lemmatization - Lemmatization is the process of grouping together different inflected forms of the same word.
• letter of intent (LOI) - A letter of intent (LOI) is a written, nonbinding document that outlines an agreement in principle between two or more parties before a legal agreement is finalized.
• lexical ambiguity - Lexical ambiguity is the potential for multiple interpretations of spoken or written language that renders it difficult or impossible to understand without some additional information.
• lexical scoping (static scoping) - Lexical scoping, also known as static scoping, is a convention used with many modern programming languages.
• Life360 - Life360 is a family communication, location and alert app for smartphones that allows users to share their locations with each other.
• lift and shift - Lift and shift is a strategy for moving an application or operation from one environment to another without stopping to redesign the app's or operation's workflow.
• Lightning (Salesforce Lightning) - Lightning (Salesforce Lightning) is a component-based framework for Salesforce app development.
• lights-out management (LOM) - Lights-out management (LOM) is a form of out-of-band management.
• limitation of liability clause - A limitation of liability clause is the section in a service-level agreement (SLA) that specifies the amounts and types of damages that each party will be obliged to provide to the other in particular circumstances.
• limited liability company (LLC) - A limited liability company (LLC) is a business structure in the United States that provides its owners with limited liability protection while allowing the flexibility of being taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship.
• line card - A line card may be a modular electronic telecommunications switching component on a printed circuit board, or a printed brochure or document that contains the names, descriptions and products that are sold by a third party.
• line of sight (LOS) - Line of sight (LOS) is the imaginary line between an observer and the target.
• Linear Tape-Open (LTO) - Linear Tape-Open (LTO) is an open-format tape storage technology created by HPE, IBM and Seagate Technology.
• linearity - Linearity is the behavior of a circuit, particularly an amplifier, in which the output signal strength varies in direct proportion to the input signal strength.
• linguistic ambiguity - Linguistic ambiguity is a quality of language that makes speech or written text open to multiple interpretations.
• Link Control Protocol (LCP) - In computer networking, Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) provides a standard way to transport multiprotocol data over point-to-point links; within PPP, Link Control Protocol (LCP) establishes, configures and tests data link internet connections.
• Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) - The Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) is an open and extendable part of the Internet Protocol Suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, used in the IEEE 802.
• LinkedIn - LinkedIn is a social networking site designed specifically for the business community.
• Linkerd - Linkerd is an open source network proxy installed as a service mesh for Kubernetes.
• Linux distros (Linux distribution) - A Linux distribution -- often shortened to "Linux distro" -- is a version of the open source Linux operating system that is packaged with other components, such as an installation programs, management tools and additional software such as the KVM hypervisor.
• Linux operating system - Linux is a Unix-like, open source and community-developed operating system (OS) for computers, servers, mainframes, mobile devices and embedded devices.
• Linux Secure Boot - Linux Secure Boot is a Hyper-V feature that Microsoft introduced in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016.
• Linux swappiness - Linux swappiness is a kernel parameter that determines how aggressively the Linux virtual machine (VM) swaps pages between memory and the swap space on the system's disk.
• liquid - A liquid is a type of matter with specific properties that make it less rigid than a solid but more rigid than a gas.
• Lisp (programming language) - Lisp, an acronym for list processing, is a functional programming language that was designed for easy manipulation of data strings.
• lithium polymer battery (LiPo) - A lithium polymer battery is a rechargeable battery with a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte.
• litigation hold (legal hold, preservation order or hold order) - A litigation hold -- also known as legal hold, preservation order or hold order -- is an internal process that an organization undergoes to preserve all data that might relate to a legal action involving the organization.
• live chat (live support) - Live chat (live support) is technology that provides companies with a way to interact with users when they visit an organization's media properties.
• live migration - Live migration refers to the process of moving a virtual machine running on one physical host to another host without disrupting normal operations or causing any downtime or other adverse effects for the end user.
• live USB (operating system on a stick) - Windows To Go is a feature of Windows 8 Enterprise edition that allows administrators to put a full blown copy of Windows 8 on an external USB 3.
• load balancing - Load balancing is a technique used to distribute network traffic across a pool of servers known as a server farm.
• load shedding - Load shedding (loadshedding) is a way to distribute demand for electrical power across multiple power sources.
• LOB (line of business) - An LOB (line-of-business) application is one of the set of critical computer applications that are vital to running an enterprise, such as accounting, supply chain management, and resource planning applications.
• local area network (LAN) - A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and peripheral devices that are connected together within a distinct geographic area, such as an office building or campus.
• Local Group Policy Editor - Local Group Policy Editor is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that provides a user interface for managing local Group Policy settings on a Windows computer.
• localization - Localization is the process of adapting and customizing a product to meet the needs of a specific market, as identified by its language, culture, expectations, local standards and legal requirements.
• location intelligence (LI) - Location intelligence (LI) is a business analysis tool capability that enables companies to gather geographic- and location-related data to better understand global, regional and local business trends.
• location-based service (LBS) - A location-based service (LBS) is a software service for mobile device applications that requires knowledge about where the mobile device is geographically located.
• log analytics - Log analytics is the assessment of a recorded set of information from one or more events, captured from a computer, network, application operating system (OS) or other IT ecosystem component.
• log file - A log file, or simply a log, in a computing context is the automatically produced and timestamped documentation of events relevant to a particular system.
• logic bomb - A logic bomb is a string of malicious code that is inserted intentionally into a program to harm a network when certain conditions are met.
• logic gate (AND, OR, XOR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XNOR) - A logic gate is a device that acts as a building block for digital circuits.
• logical block addressing (LBA) - Logical block addressing (LBA) is a technique to specify the addresses of blocks of data on a storage device, such as a hard disk.
• logical equivalence - Logical equivalence is the condition of equality that exists between two statements or sentences in propositional logic or Boolean algebra.
• logical implication - Logical implication is a type of relationship between two statements or sentences.
• logical negation symbol - The logical negation symbol is used in Boolean algebra to indicate that the truth value of the statement that follows is reversed.
• logical network - A logical network is a software-defined network topology or routing that is often different than the physical network.
• logical OR symbol - In mathematics, the logical OR symbol is a Boolean function that is positioned between two statements to indicate an inclusive disjunction between them.
• logical partition (LPAR) - A logical partition (LPAR) is a subset of a computer's processor, memory and I/O resources that behaves much like a physical server.
• logical unit number (LUN) - A logical unit number (LUN) is a unique identifier for designating an individual or collection of physical or virtual storage devices that execute input/output (I/O) commands with a host computer, as defined by the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) standard.
• logical volume management (LVM) - Logical volume management (LVM) is a form of storage virtualization that offers system administrators a more flexible approach to managing disk storage space than traditional partitioning.
• logistic regression - Logistic regression, also known as a logit model, is a statistical analysis method to predict a binary outcome, such as yes or no, based on prior observations of a data set.
• logistics - Logistics is the process of planning and executing the efficient transportation and storage of goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption.
• logistics management - Logistics management is the governance of supply chain management functions that helps organizations plan, manage and implement processes to move and store goods.
• logon (or login) - In computing, a logon is a procedure that enables an entity to access a secure system such as an operating system, application, service, website or other resource.
• loop - In computer programming, a loop is a sequence of instructions that is continually repeated until a certain condition is reached.
• loose coupling - Loose coupling is an approach to interconnecting the components in a system, network or software application so that those components, also called elements, depend on each other to the least extent practicable.
• lossless and lossy compression - Lossless and lossy file compression describe whether all original data can be recovered when the file is uncompressed.
• low earth orbit (LEO) satellite - A low earth orbit (LEO) satellite is an object, generally an electronic piece of equipment, that circles around the earth at lower altitudes than geosynchronous satellites.
• low-code and no-code development platforms - Low-code/no-code development platforms are software development tools and environments that allow enterprise developers and citizen developers to create new applications using drag-and-drop components, linking them together and creating mobile or web apps.
• lowerCamelCase - A part of CamelCase, lowerCamelCase is a naming convention in which a name contains multiple words that are joined together as a single word.
• loyalty card program - A loyalty card program is an incentive plan that allows a retail business to gather data about its customers.