.L File Extension

Source code file written for Lex, a program used to generate lexical analyzers; contains formal declarations for allowable source code syntax in a file; used for specifying the recognized syntax of source code.

A lexical analyzer allows developers to convert text into a sequence of "tokens," which is required in the process of compiling source code. Lex generates a C source code from an input L file.

NOTE: Lex is often used in combination with Yacc, a program used to generate source code parsers.

Audio file containing the left channel of an audio track; may be exported by an audio production program, such as Digital Performer (Mac) or Cubase (Mac and Windows).

Contains a pattern of dots that is used as the starting point for "The Game of Life," a mathematical game developed by John Conway; often used for teaching purposes in math and computer science.

The basic rules of "The Game of Life" are 1) an empty space becomes a dot if exactly 3 neighbors are dots, 2) a dot with 2 or 3 neighboring dots stays a dot, and 3) all other cases, the space becomes or remains empty. The result is the development of some interesting patterns.