Explain the concept of recursion in Python and provide an example.

Question

Aryan Kumar · Answer

Sure. Recursion is a programming technique where a function calls itself. This allows us to break down a problem into smaller and smaller subproblems until we reach a base case that is simple enough to solve.
Here is an example of a recursive function in Python:
Python
def factorial(n):
 if n == 0:
 return 1
 else:
 return n * factorial(n - 1)
This function calculates the factorial of a number. The factorial of a number is the product of all the integers from 1 to that number. For example, the factorial of 5 is 120.
The factorial function works by recursively calling itself. The base case is when n is 0. In this case, the function simply returns 1. Otherwise, the function multiplies n by the factorial of n - 1. This recursively breaks down the problem of calculating the factorial of n into the problem of calculating the factorial of n - 1.
Here is an example of how the factorial function would be used:
Python
>>> factorial(5)
120
The factorial function will recursively call itself 4 times to calculate the factorial of 5. The first call will be to factorial(5), which will then call factorial(4). The second call to factorial(4) will then call factorial(3), and so on. Eventually, the function will reach the base case of factorial(0), which will return 1. The function will then work its way back up the stack, multiplying the results of each call together.
Recursion can be a powerful tool for solving problems. However, it is important to use it carefully. If a recursive function is not written correctly, it can end up in an infinite loop

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Explain the concept of recursion in Python and provide an example.

Steilla Mitchel

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