What is Recursive Call?

Recursion refers to a function calling itself. It is often used to express mathematical functions like factorials and Fibonacci sequences.

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def factorial(n):
    if n == 0: # Base case
        return 1 # Recursion ends
    else: # Recursive call
        return n * factorial(n-1) # Calls itself with n-1 as argument

# Example: Calculating factorial of 5
factorial_result = factorial(5)

print("factorial_result:", factorial_result) # factorial_result: 120

Recursive functions are useful for solving complex problems by breaking them down into simpler, repetitive tasks.

Every recursive function needs a termination condition, known as the base case. The base case defines the stopping point of the recursion.

For instance, in the factorial function above, the statement if n == 0 is the base case that ends the recursion.

This condition ensures that when n becomes 0 or less, the function stops calling itself and terminates.

1. The code is cleaner and easier to understand.

2. It allows complex problems to be expressed concisely.

3. It is particularly useful for naturally implementing data structures and algorithms.

• Each function call uses memory, which may lead to higher memory usage.

• If not implemented correctly, it can lead to infinite loops.

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