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Recursion in programming is a technique where a function calls itself in order to solve a problem. It is a powerful concept that allows you to break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable subproblems. Here's a detailed explanation:
# t4 i6 m1 y# P5 M: YKey Idea of Recursion
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# e( x& K$ o9 ~A recursive function solves a problem by:
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, b4 X' b! r/ I4 C d. @ Breaking the problem into smaller instances of the same problem.
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8 N& ~9 U3 N: Z. N5 S Solving the smallest instance directly (base case).9 M' l3 U t- Y d) \' {
; g* }3 @4 U' J; U2 o4 m2 E% \2 s Combining the results of smaller instances to solve the larger problem.
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1 I8 k: }1 T; g! V* t" tComponents of a Recursive Function- |/ E& y) r6 o I# c) a& V' U" n$ T& j
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Base Case:
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' a. [# Y1 m4 x! ~7 h& P: ]1 ? This is the simplest, smallest instance of the problem that can be solved directly without further recursion.
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' o/ Z( l8 l# Z& [ It acts as the stopping condition to prevent infinite recursion.
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Example: In calculating the factorial of a number, the base case is factorial(0) = 1.
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Recursive Case:$ q2 X' m: F8 m3 J$ s
: _. v! g+ @, e2 W! w1 f) y This is where the function calls itself with a smaller or simpler version of the problem.7 E& ^$ \2 G4 A; m8 m3 n
8 ?: S. q3 W% m2 n Example: For factorial, the recursive case is factorial(n) = n * factorial(n-1).5 S% D# S( x+ Y+ }; m/ J
8 ]& a( N8 ~" u1 F3 kExample: Factorial Calculation
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The factorial of a number n (denoted as n!) is the product of all positive integers less than or equal to n. It can be defined recursively as:. a1 s, h( g3 U3 a8 d
9 ?4 \9 \0 n" P$ c$ A! \* M Base case: 0! = 1
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Recursive case: n! = n * (n-1)! L; ]" A1 M) f! d/ }
8 D [' E) H' V6 R# Q% X4 aHere’s how it looks in code (Python):8 \0 ~ }! X& M. b4 m2 l+ l7 H
python
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def factorial(n):( F! ?% S5 v$ t* {, u
# Base case
. x0 D* J1 q5 X if n == 0:
4 ?8 n. c o" o) i- V/ C; N return 1
1 C7 n) f. O' h5 V # Recursive case6 Z3 s2 f- d% i( w; H0 H
else:- S! c M: K6 U" [$ ?" q
return n * factorial(n - 1) q- n8 z" k0 d: {
. O' ^7 [, n6 i" V# Example usage7 Y& D% O/ {( O2 Q
print(factorial(5)) # Output: 120+ @ F5 U5 F5 H
1 p8 l. Q" z2 \$ W8 E& C! lHow Recursion Works
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1 F' P: S, m; R9 i0 T | The function keeps calling itself with smaller inputs until it reaches the base case.. w% }# l' V, v; R/ w" I# `& m
! V3 \! \- `; C9 m7 W Once the base case is reached, the function starts returning values back up the call stack.1 U' | \' x8 a4 i v6 T
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These returned values are combined to produce the final result.! x( W3 ?3 x9 E
0 a9 n) H6 \1 J' @% M$ \3 V' hFor factorial(5):5 _% a b# O/ |( S
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factorial(5) = 5 * factorial(4): y/ l* Z; s/ M* C' O$ L, v
factorial(4) = 4 * factorial(3)5 B& \1 S6 U+ C3 \# K6 Q
factorial(3) = 3 * factorial(2) [( H' F+ W6 b o
factorial(2) = 2 * factorial(1)) T( ~' w: m, f' r" j2 j
factorial(1) = 1 * factorial(0)" W3 `: t9 w; x% u G
factorial(0) = 1 # Base case
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# a; h \" V1 E; e3 SThen, the results are combined:
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! i+ C& r- ~9 I7 A5 Wfactorial(1) = 1 * 1 = 1* o: j! B% Q$ R5 b* M* T+ H
factorial(2) = 2 * 1 = 2
! H* F; \+ v* l7 E: F0 `# Q _factorial(3) = 3 * 2 = 61 J9 l+ A- f" b
factorial(4) = 4 * 6 = 249 w/ y( X4 I) ] |( P. _4 t, t
factorial(5) = 5 * 24 = 120* h- P+ C& X4 |' |8 J9 `1 ^
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Advantages of Recursion) J& d5 m* {- ~! g2 X: S; c) ~( y
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Simplicity: Recursive solutions are often more intuitive and easier to write for problems that have a natural recursive structure (e.g., tree traversals, divide-and-conquer algorithms).6 @' e- j2 K2 t5 C9 H0 A, o( w
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Readability: Recursive code can be more readable and concise compared to iterative solutions.
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Disadvantages of Recursion
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4 R C Z4 v1 O3 E- Z Performance Overhead: Each recursive call adds a new layer to the call stack, which can lead to high memory usage and potential stack overflow for deep recursion.- D$ O: `3 t4 t
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Inefficiency: Some problems can be solved more efficiently using iteration (e.g., Fibonacci sequence without memoization).5 N W- X6 x6 d; U. p9 t$ i7 a
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When to Use Recursion
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. |* L6 L- G( R Problems that can be broken down into smaller, similar subproblems (e.g., tree traversals, sorting algorithms like quicksort and mergesort).- _9 P" J+ R& }6 n4 ]; x* I/ l0 Y
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Problems with a clear base case and recursive case.
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Example: Fibonacci Sequence
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/ b' R( a7 E1 J7 Q9 ~The Fibonacci sequence is another classic example of recursion. Each number is the sum of the two preceding ones:
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Base case: fib(0) = 0, fib(1) = 1' y6 Q, y1 J% q3 S
0 s8 F) \; \! J2 D* ~8 _ Recursive case: fib(n) = fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)
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python
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0 z+ ^& @# w/ k" A9 Tdef fibonacci(n):
0 ]% C+ U i: A4 x, \# D # Base cases6 q6 h+ |( R" H( G: y( F) ?# Y
if n == 0:8 [8 `+ Q, O2 C- d* y7 |* ]
return 07 C+ w+ b' o7 z6 x5 A: r+ ?
elif n == 1:& z; r: k# Q+ z' @& J
return 1$ ^( m" E/ s0 Y* V' D
# Recursive case1 u& v7 O3 d( {. e' @3 L7 T6 e
else:
; N1 z8 k3 P* D0 j return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2)* P2 \4 Z }! B4 N( K! |
" D. Z" W$ j" c3 s& H# Example usage
( x x4 I& ?# O% n: qprint(fibonacci(6)) # Output: 8
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Tail Recursion
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1 |, ~2 a0 _) HTail recursion is a special case of recursion where the recursive call is the last operation in the function. Some programming languages optimize tail-recursive functions to avoid stack overflow, but not all languages (e.g., Python does not optimize tail recursion).
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1 L6 M, t/ l" S1 Z1 iIn summary, recursion is a fundamental concept in programming that allows you to solve problems by breaking them into smaller, self-similar subproblems. It’s important to define a base case to avoid infinite recursion and to understand the trade-offs between recursion and iteration. |
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