LIFO

(pronounced: lie-fow)

An acronym, it generally refers to a data structure used by programmers, also known as a stack. Like FIFO and FISH, you will often see it in online chat or instant messaging to refer when a participant has entered or left the conversation.

However, the "LIFO" term originated in the accounting profession and refers to how on-hand inventory is valued when it is issued. For example, do you use the EARLIEST received material price (FIFO system - - First In, First Out) or the LATEST received material price (LIFO system - - Last In, First Out) to cost the transaction and remaining inventory.   The "FISH" (First In, Still Here) was a humorous, sarcastic combination of the LIFO & FIFO, commenting on the excessive and/or "dead inventory" that a company might be carrying. Programmers and others have appropriated the LIFO & FIFO & FISH terms for similar conditions (and evolved other derivations, like the GIGO & NINO), but the original usage came from the accounting world.

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