Help with ICs

[jackbauer]

Are the XL74LS08 and 74LS08 the same/equivalent?

Also, is a IC 78L05 voltage regulator a transistor? Because when I search for that IC, I even get pictures of transistors, I need to know exactly how it is.

[Kim Christensen]

The XL is probably just the manufacturer code.

The 78L05 can come in the TO-92 package just like transistors do. So yes, it'll look like a transistor, but it's really a 5V regulator if it's labeled as a 78L05.