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Differences and Similarities Btween Recursion and Iteration

A recursive method calls itself directly or indirectly and requires simplification of the computation and handling of base cases for success. It contrasts with iteration, which uses repetition structures, while recursion relies on selection structures and can lead to infinite loops if not properly managed. Both methods involve termination tests, but recursion can be more costly in terms of processor time and memory due to repeated method calls.

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11 views2 pages

Differences and Similarities Btween Recursion and Iteration

A recursive method calls itself directly or indirectly and requires simplification of the computation and handling of base cases for success. It contrasts with iteration, which uses repetition structures, while recursion relies on selection structures and can lead to infinite loops if not properly managed. Both methods involve termination tests, but recursion can be more costly in terms of processor time and memory due to repeated method calls.

Uploaded by

masachibwatoh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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A recursive method is a method that calls itself either directly or indirectly.

There are two key requirements to make sure that the recursion is successful:

 Every recursive call must simplify the computation in some way.


 There must be special cases to handle the simplest computations.

Iteration Vs. Recursion

 If a recursive method is called with a base case, the method returns a result. If a method is
called with a more complex problem, the method divides the problem into two or more
conceptual pieces: a piece that the method knows how to do and a slightly smaller
version of the original problem. Because this new problem looks like the original
problem, the method launches a recursive call to work on the smaller problem.
 For recursion to terminate, each time the recursion method calls itself with a slightly
simpler version of the original problem, the sequence of smaller and smaller problems
must converge on the base case. When the method recognizes the base case, the result is
returned to the previous method call and a sequence of returns ensures all the way up the
line until the original call of the method eventually returns the final result.
 Both iteration and recursion are based on a control structure: Iteration uses a repetition
structure; recursion uses a selection structure.
 Both iteration and recursion involve repetition: Iteration explicitly uses a repetition
structure; recursion achieves repetition through repeated method calls.
 Iteration and recursion each involve a termination test: Iteration terminates when the
loop-continuation condition fails; recursion terminates when a base case is recognized.
 Iteration and recursion can occur infinitely: An infinite loop occurs with iteration if the
loop-continuation test never becomes false; infinite recursion occurs if the recursion step
does not reduce the problem in a manner that converges on the base case.
 Recursion repeatedly invokes the mechanism, and consequently the overhead, of method
calls. This can be expensive in both processor time and memory space.

A recursive method is a method that calls itself either directly or indirectly.


There are two key requirements to make sure that the recursion is successful:

 Every recursive call must simplify the computation in some way.


 There must be special cases to handle the simplest computations.

Iteration Vs. Recursion

 If a recursive method is called with a base case, the method returns a result. If a method is
called with a more complex problem, the method divides the problem into two or more
conceptual pieces: a piece that the method knows how to do and a slightly smaller
version of the original problem. Because this new problem looks like the original
problem, the method launches a recursive call to work on the smaller problem.
 For recursion to terminate, each time the recursion method calls itself with a slightly
simpler version of the original problem, the sequence of smaller and smaller problems
must converge on the base case. When the method recognizes the base case, the result is
returned to the previous method call and a sequence of returns ensures all the way up the
line until the original call of the method eventually returns the final result.
 Both iteration and recursion are based on a control structure: Iteration uses a repetition
structure; recursion uses a selection structure.
 Both iteration and recursion involve repetition: Iteration explicitly uses a repetition
structure; recursion achieves repetition through repeated method calls.
 Iteration and recursion each involve a termination test: Iteration terminates when the
loop-continuation condition fails; recursion terminates when a base case is recognized.
 Iteration and recursion can occur infinitely: An infinite loop occurs with iteration if the
loop-continuation test never becomes false; infinite recursion occurs if the recursion step
does not reduce the problem in a manner that converges on the base case.
 Recursion repeatedly invokes the mechanism, and consequently the overhead, of method
calls. This can be expensive in both processor time and memory space.

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