Re: Recursion, Yo

Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> writes:

On 07.04.2024 11:52, fir wrote:

>

okay, there are some class of things that suit good for recursion - and
its probably good to spot whose they are

>
All iterations. (So, basically all code we typically write with 'for'
and 'while' loops.) For example. Plus all the things where emulation
with non-recursive means is cumbersome and complex. (Like operating
on recursive data structures like trees.)
>
Actually, you can formally derive the iterative constructs from [a
subset of] the recursive ones (by introducing variables and loops).
>
It makes a difference where one comes from. If folks learned coding
from imperative languages they have more problems with a functional
view (and also with recursion, it seems). Here, with "C", we're more
used to 'while' loops and variables, I think.

The language used is key.  I would not say that recursion is a good fit
for "all iterations" when using C.  It's significant (or at least note
worthy) that the code in the original post was not ISO C and re-writing
it in ISO C would show up some of the issues involved, though this task
is still a good fit for an explicitly recursive solution.

--
Ben.