The serial number, now retired, sits in a database. But next week, a new programmer will request it for a “re-activation” to test an old show file. The server will check the date and respond: “License expired. Please renew maintenance.”

A dialog box appears:

A CSC licensing server receives the order. In less than a second, it generates a unique —let’s call it CSC-SHO-4F3D-9A2B-1E7C .