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LIFO (Last-In-First-Out) approach in Programming

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025
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Prerequisites - FIFO (First-In-First-Out) approach in Programming, FIFO vs LIFO approach in Programming 
LIFO is an abbreviation for last in, first out. It is a method for handling data structures where the first element is processed last and the last element is processed first.

Real-life example:

In this example, following things are to be considered: 

  • There is a bucket that holds balls.
  • Different types of balls are entered into the bucket.
  • The ball to enter the bucket last will be taken out first.
  • The ball entering the bucket next to last will be taken out after the ball above it (the newer one).
  • In this way, the ball entering the bucket first will leave the bucket last.
  • Therefore, the Last ball (Blue) to enter the bucket gets removed first and the First ball (Red) to enter the bucket gets removed last.

This is known as Last-In-First-Out approach or LIFO.

Where is LIFO used:

  1. Data Structures:
    Certain data structures like Stacks and other variants of Stacks use LIFO approach for processing data.
  2. Extracting latest information:
    Sometimes computers use LIFO when data is extracted from an array or data buffer. When it is required to get the most recent information entered, the LIFO approach is used.  

Program Examples for LIFO:

Implementation: Using Stack data structure.

C++ 
// C++ program to demonstrate  // working of LIFO  // using stack in C++  #include<bits/stdc++.h> using namespace std; // Pushing element on the top of the stack  stack<int> stack_push(stack<int> stack)  {   for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)   {   stack.push(i);   }   return stack; }  // Popping element from the top of the stack  stack<int> stack_pop(stack<int> stack)  {   cout << "Pop :";   for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)   {   int y = (int)stack.top();  stack.pop();  cout << (y) << endl;   }   return stack; }  // Displaying element on the top of the stack  void stack_peek(stack<int> stack)  {   int element = (int)stack.top();   cout << "Element on stack top : " << element << endl;  }  // Searching element in the stack  void stack_search(stack<int> stack, int element)  {   int pos = -1,co = 0;  while(stack.size() > 0)  {  co++;  if(stack.top() == element)  {  pos = co;  break;  }  stack.pop();  }  if (pos == -1)   cout << "Element not found" << endl;   else  cout << "Element is found at position " << pos << endl;  }  // Driver code int main()  {   stack<int> stack ;   stack = stack_push(stack);   stack = stack_pop(stack);   stack = stack_push(stack);   stack_peek(stack);   stack_search(stack, 2);   stack_search(stack, 6);   return 0; }   // This code is contributed by Arnab Kundu
Java 
// Java program to demonstrate // working of LIFO // using Stack in Java import java.io.*; import java.util.*; class GFG {  // Pushing element on the top of the stack  static void stack_push(Stack<Integer> stack)  {  for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {  stack.push(i);  }  }  // Popping element from the top of the stack  static void stack_pop(Stack<Integer> stack)  {  System.out.println("Pop :");  for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {  Integer y = (Integer)stack.pop();  System.out.println(y);  }  }  // Displaying element on the top of the stack  static void stack_peek(Stack<Integer> stack)  {  Integer element = (Integer)stack.peek();  System.out.println("Element on stack top : " + element);  }  // Searching element in the stack  static void stack_search(Stack<Integer> stack, int element)  {  Integer pos = (Integer)stack.search(element);  if (pos == -1)  System.out.println("Element not found");  else  System.out.println("Element is found at position " + pos);  }  public static void main(String[] args)  {  Stack<Integer> stack = new Stack<Integer>();  stack_push(stack);  stack_pop(stack);  stack_push(stack);  stack_peek(stack);  stack_search(stack, 2);  stack_search(stack, 6);  } }
Python3 
# Python3 program to demonstrate working of LIFO # Pushing element on the top of the stack def stack_push(stack): for i in range(5): stack.append(i) return stack # Popping element from the top of the stack def stack_pop(stack): print("Pop :") for i in range(5): y = stack[-1] stack.pop() print(y) return stack # Displaying element on the top of the stack def stack_peek(stack): element = stack[-1] print("Element on stack top :", element) # Searching element in the stack def stack_search(stack, element): pos = -1 co = 0 while(len(stack) > 0): co+=1 if(stack[-1] == element): pos = co break stack.pop() if (pos == -1): print( "Element not found") else: print("Element is found at position", pos) stack = [] stack_push(stack) stack_pop(stack) stack_push(stack) stack_peek(stack) stack_search(stack, 2) stack_search(stack, 6) # This code is contributed by rameshtravel07.
C# 
// C# program to demonstrate  // working of LIFO  // using Stack in C#  using System; using System.Collections.Generic; class GFG {   // Pushing element on the top of the stack   static void stack_push(Stack<int> stack)   {   for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)  {   stack.Push(i);   }   }   // Popping element from the top of the stack   static void stack_pop(Stack<int> stack)   {   Console.WriteLine("Pop :");   for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++)  {   int y = (int)stack.Pop();   Console.WriteLine(y);   }   }   // Displaying element on the top of the stack   static void stack_peek(Stack<int> stack)   {   int element = (int)stack.Peek();   Console.WriteLine("Element on stack top : " + element);   }   // Searching element in the stack   static void stack_search(Stack<int> stack, int element)   {   bool pos = stack.Contains(element);   if (pos == false)   Console.WriteLine("Element not found");   else  Console.WriteLine("Element is found at position " + pos);   }   // Driver code  public static void Main(String[] args)   {   Stack<int> stack = new Stack<int>();   stack_push(stack);   stack_pop(stack);   stack_push(stack);   stack_peek(stack);   stack_search(stack, 2);   stack_search(stack, 6);   }  }  // This code contributed by Rajput-Ji
JavaScript 
<script> // JavaScript program to demonstrate  // working of LIFO  // Pushing element on the top of the stack  function stack_push(stack)  {   for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++)   {   stack.push(i);   }   return stack; }  // Popping element from the top of the stack  function stack_pop(stack)  {   document.write( "Pop :<br>");   for (var i = 0; i < 5; i++)   {   var y = parseInt(stack[stack.length-1]);  stack.pop();  document.write( y + "<br>");   }   return stack; }  // Displaying element on the top of the stack  function stack_peek(stack)  {   var element = parseInt(stack[stack.length-1]);   document.write( "Element on stack top : " + element +   "<br>");  }  // Searching element in the stack  function stack_search( stack, element)  {   var pos = -1,co = 0;  while(stack.length > 0)  {  co++;  if(stack[stack.length-1] == element)  {  pos = co;  break;  }  stack.pop();  }  if (pos == -1)   document.write( "Element not found" + "<br>");   else  document.write("Element is found at position "   + pos + "<br>");  }   stack=[] ;   stack = stack_push(stack);   stack = stack_pop(stack);   stack = stack_push(stack);   stack_peek(stack);   stack_search(stack, 2);   stack_search(stack, 6);    // This code is contributed by SoumikMondal </script>

Output
Pop :4 3 2 1 0 Element on stack top : 4 Element is found at position 3 Element not found

Complexity Analysis:

  • Time Complexity: O(n)
  • Auxiliary Space: O(n) 

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