Intro to CS: Lecture 15 - Recursion

in Intro to CS using Python
#computer-science #python

Topics: Recursion: iteration vs. recursion, inductive reasoning

Recursion is review for me. I like the example she gave with the student asking professor, TA, and LA to regrade.

Big idea: “Earlier” function calls are waiting on results before completing. Went over some more examples of recursion.

When to use recursion?

  • Multiplication of two numbers did not need a recursive function, did not even need an iterative function
  • Factorial was a little more intuitive to implement with recursion
  • MOST problems do not need recursion to solve them
    • If iteration is more intuitive for you then solve them using loops
  • SOME problems yield far simpler code using recursion
    • Searching file system for a specific file
    • Evaluating mathematical expressions that use parens for order of ops