Notes

Recursion

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Programming

Recursion

A recursive function is a function which calls itself.

Here’s how it goes: beginning recursion -> recursive loop of repeating a task -> until we hit our base case.

a function being defined is applied within its own definition. While this apparently defines an infinite number of instances (function values), it is often done in such a way that no loop or infinite chain of references can occur.

Recursion is the process a procedure goes through when one of the steps of the procedure involves invoking the procedure itself.

Notes

  • like while loops but much cleaner
  • self-referential definitions
  • Recursion vs. Iteration: Iteration explicitly uses repetition structures to achieve results. Recursion on the other hand repeats through function calls
  • a base case is used to stop recursion

There are 4 distinct pieces of a recursive function:

  1. Repeated task: this is the function task you want to run on each function invocation
  2. Base case: this is how we stop recursion! when the base case condition is met, recursion stops. it’s very important you stop a recursive function, otherwise it’ll keep recurring infinitely
  3. Recursion: this is where we run the function again
  4. Beginning recursion: this is where we kick things off!