Programming FundamentalsIntermediate
Recursion
Pronunciationrih-KUR-zhun
Definition
When a function calls itself to solve a smaller version of the same problem, until it reaches a simple base case.
Where you hear it
Algorithm courses, interviews, and tree or folder traversal.
Examples
Walking through folders is a classic use of recursion.
The recursion has no base case, so it crashes with a stack overflow.
Common mistake
Forgetting the base case. Without it the function never stops.
Keep exploring
More in Programming Fundamentals