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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:2 k3 ~2 f9 T$ y$ C! G
Key Idea of Recursion2 i- w3 D/ H8 Y; O! I: M1 e
: ]" g& w3 t1 F6 l! ?A recursive function solves a problem by: d4 f8 I" w( s2 s, b- ~9 R3 X
$ @& M. \6 `) S& M Breaking the problem into smaller instances of the same problem.0 ?' f" ~: h) h0 Z5 {# c' w' D$ S. Z
+ h, a- `8 h- B$ K- d+ @/ c6 g( a6 P Solving the smallest instance directly (base case).
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Combining the results of smaller instances to solve the larger problem.4 W; O8 ~6 y" [' O
d' p( S( N/ i+ ^( }- n3 z# v4 n- k7 QComponents of a Recursive Function3 }) a* r p6 k7 e5 y& |, }; n
- z/ _1 P8 x1 i% ] Base Case:! V0 {6 J/ j9 d. M5 I
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This is the simplest, smallest instance of the problem that can be solved directly without further recursion.. F0 e' D- F' A- `/ z
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It acts as the stopping condition to prevent infinite recursion.' _8 c% x" |3 B; |# \' N; Z/ F+ z
5 d3 L5 T* f6 ]% k1 r0 X Example: In calculating the factorial of a number, the base case is factorial(0) = 1.
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Recursive Case:. k# _4 y1 F0 a4 I
' Z0 o0 Y7 u' P q This is where the function calls itself with a smaller or simpler version of the problem.* C& m' v4 @" a0 j
/ M- E0 [* o* `+ g5 f; r- g+ [- u Example: For factorial, the recursive case is factorial(n) = n * factorial(n-1).
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Example: Factorial Calculation9 T, V: u1 i6 y7 H0 J$ R& a( k
! q. X6 N7 C; V% n- f. n6 H! y" vThe 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:
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& {' \0 D; m. t8 r+ T Base case: 0! = 1
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Recursive case: n! = n * (n-1)!
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Here’s how it looks in code (Python):, f8 k8 \) H3 C/ P. {7 p m; A5 i
python
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def factorial(n):: F9 x0 [$ u. w& I, e9 j6 [1 v4 `1 k
# Base case
$ e2 l% U' E* Q! D) a if n == 0:
/ V1 I3 {# v7 E3 g: |% A return 1/ l5 ~4 t R/ m3 X
# Recursive case
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return n * factorial(n - 1)
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7 J$ y [$ h2 z4 q* x% ?# Example usage- z/ h2 D1 K- C1 k
print(factorial(5)) # Output: 120
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7 O2 D/ y& ~7 h) n) r! EHow Recursion Works
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9 }1 |$ P7 ^5 i9 W+ k' s% j( R) j A The function keeps calling itself with smaller inputs until it reaches the base case.
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Once the base case is reached, the function starts returning values back up the call stack.
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/ W8 C0 L9 b5 Q# ^9 i These returned values are combined to produce the final result.5 c* x h J$ l8 J# h
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For factorial(5):
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factorial(5) = 5 * factorial(4)
( b7 L4 g- e* Q. x [3 ?factorial(4) = 4 * factorial(3)! M% `# A$ x9 A1 x" F: @. o
factorial(3) = 3 * factorial(2)
8 q4 O7 j7 ~3 P. ffactorial(2) = 2 * factorial(1)
3 s* s7 a0 Z8 p5 h. B1 Jfactorial(1) = 1 * factorial(0)4 S; ` X' @0 ]/ v# H" ~7 Y
factorial(0) = 1 # Base case
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, H1 [6 s: [5 i2 |9 E% w% s" kThen, the results are combined:$ I" d( Y! V% y
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" z; L: P: C& S9 \- Bfactorial(1) = 1 * 1 = 1
( ]# y3 ~" T4 u. {. Sfactorial(2) = 2 * 1 = 2
2 X) L( [* c1 o' @5 lfactorial(3) = 3 * 2 = 6
+ D: @0 U" v; d- cfactorial(4) = 4 * 6 = 248 g$ E( S2 Y# ?: D7 }; G/ [' K
factorial(5) = 5 * 24 = 1205 J2 o& R1 A6 j% P. k: y4 R
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Advantages of Recursion; O: B( o' g" [
- |. [# D: h2 S9 L 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).
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Readability: Recursive code can be more readable and concise compared to iterative solutions.
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# m3 k- ~8 f8 m0 `Disadvantages of Recursion
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. |( G& ]7 ?7 q7 {1 o& M* [$ O 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." a/ G$ L% S$ p2 m
8 I3 V. U2 W1 m Inefficiency: Some problems can be solved more efficiently using iteration (e.g., Fibonacci sequence without memoization).# _8 t) M9 ]3 d) v; i
. |/ s, A& c- hWhen to Use Recursion- _( D: ^2 s( y% [0 ]- ]) k2 t
/ x- G/ l5 M9 O0 K5 X) R, k% ?# Z* J Problems that can be broken down into smaller, similar subproblems (e.g., tree traversals, sorting algorithms like quicksort and mergesort).
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Problems with a clear base case and recursive case.( I2 b3 f; O7 n7 i
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Example: Fibonacci Sequence- i: n7 a+ X& L3 ~$ V7 U ?
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The Fibonacci sequence is another classic example of recursion. Each number is the sum of the two preceding ones:9 X5 E: ]8 r, E) w! O
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Base case: fib(0) = 0, fib(1) = 1
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Recursive case: fib(n) = fib(n-1) + fib(n-2)% F% m0 ~3 {4 F o' l' ^* T
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def fibonacci(n):
6 P; U- {0 f* U* K6 _" M1 T( T # Base cases: d m# s# f0 n4 D/ G: F
if n == 0:* F3 K. p) G3 y8 p- r" l4 B
return 0: _% h5 {7 y+ G# @0 O7 N9 P( }. n
elif n == 1:1 d. P1 |3 u& _) g
return 1
$ Z: S$ G; ?- x7 S( c1 o/ @ # Recursive case0 K$ K( h5 L' q6 I; b: N! X9 |
else:9 ]! X$ l! K' q, a% l( ?* r# G& A
return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2)
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# Example usage0 n! q: K: O9 [
print(fibonacci(6)) # Output: 8
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2 x/ c" f2 l( ZTail Recursion& {2 M* Q* U: {0 y S) L$ n9 ^
: @. q4 }! n% ]Tail 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).# ?2 {' z" x2 Z4 s3 g {
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In 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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