Question

What does LIFO mean?

Short answer

Answer: LIFO stands for Last In, First Out, and it is a method used in managing inventory and data structures, where the most recently added item is the first one to be removed, used, or processed. In inventory management, it means that the latest items added to the stock are assumed to be the first ones to be sold or used, resulting in older items staying in the inventory for a longer time. In data structures like stack, LIFO is applied by adding an element to the top of the stack (push operation) and removing the top element (pop operation), with the most recently added element being the first one to be removed.

Step-by-step solution

Define LIFO

LIFO stands for Last In, First Out. It is a method used in managing inventory or data structures, where the most recently added item is the first one to be removed, used, or processed.

Explain LIFO in Inventory Management

In the context of inventory management, LIFO is a method of valuing the inventory, where the latest items added to the stock are assumed to be the first ones to be sold or used. This method results in the older items remaining in the inventory for a longer period.

Explain LIFO in Data Structures

In computer science and data structures, LIFO is commonly seen in stack data structures. A stack operates as a collection of elements, with two primary operations: push and pop. Push adds an element to the top of the stack, and pop removes the top element. In this case, the element added most recently (last in) is the first one to be removed (first out).