LEX is a tool that allows users to specify a lexical analyzer by defining patterns for tokens using regular expressions. The LEX compiler transforms these patterns into a transition diagram and generates C code. It takes a LEX source program as input, compiles it to produce lex.yy.c, which is then compiled with a C compiler to generate an executable that takes an input stream and returns a sequence of tokens. LEX programs have declarations, translation rules that map patterns to actions, and optional auxiliary functions. The actions are fragments of C code that execute when a pattern is matched.