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Java Recursive Tracing

Recursive tracing in java

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8 views

Java Recursive Tracing

Recursive tracing in java

Uploaded by

processaa2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Java Recursion

Slides provided by the University of Washington Computer Science & Engineering department.
Adapted from slides by Marty Stepp, Stuart Reges & Allison Obourn.
Recursion
- recursion: The definition of an operation in terms of itself
- Solving a problem using recursion depends on solving
smaller occurrences of the same problem.
- recursive programming: Writing methods that call
themselves to solve problems recursively
- An equally powerful substitute for iteration (like for-
loops)
- Particularly well-suited for solving certain types of
problems
Recursion and cases
- Every recursive algorithm involves at least 2 cases:
- base case: A simple occurrence that can be answered
directly
- recursive case: A more complex occurrence of the
problem that cannot be directly answered, but can
instead be described in terms of smaller occurrences of
the same problem
- Some recursive algorithms have more than one base or
recursive case, but all have at least one of each.
- A crucial part of recursive programming is identifying these
cases.
Recursion in Java
- Consider the following method to print a line of * characters:
// Prints a line containing the given number of stars.
// Precondition: n >= 0
public static void printStars(int n) {
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
System.out.print("*");
}
System.out.println(); // end the line of output
}
- Write a recursive version of this method that calls itself.
- Solve the problem without using any loops.
- Hint: your solution should print just one star at a time.
Recursion in Java
- Our recursive solution is split into two cases:
- base case: print 0 stars
- recursive case: print more than 0 stars
- In Java:
public static void printStars(int n) {
if (n == 0) {
// base case; just end the line of output
System.out.println();
} else {
// recursive case; print one zero stars
System.out.print("*");
printStars(n - 1);
}
}
Recursive tracing
- Consider the following recursive method:
public static int mystery(int n) {
if (n < 10) {
return n;
} else {
int a = n / 10;
int b = n % 10;
return mystery(a + b);
}
}
- What is the result of the following call?
mystery(648)
A recursive trace
mystery(648):

- int a = 648 / 10; // 64


- int b = 648 % 10; // 8
- return mystery(a + b); // mystery(72)

mystery(72):

- int a = 72 / 10; // 7
- int b = 72 % 10; // 2
- return mystery(a + b); // mystery(9)

mystery(9):

- return 9;
Recursive tracing 2
- Consider the following recursive method:
public static int mystery(int n) {
if (n < 10) {
return (10 * n) + n;
} else {
int a = mystery(n / 10);
int b = mystery(n % 10);
return (100 * a) + b;
}
}
- What is the result of the following call?
mystery(348)
A recursive trace 2
mystery(348):

- int a = mystery(34);
- int a = mystery(3);
- return (10 * 3) + 3; // 33
- int b = mystery(4);
- return (10 * 4) + 4; // 44
- return (100 * 33) + 44; // 3344
- int b = mystery(8);
- return (10 * 8) + 8; // 88
- return (100 * 3344) + 88; // 334488

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