recursive
- Adjective:
- Involving or using a rule or procedure that can be applied repeatedly: A process or definition is recursive if it is defined in terms of a simpler or smaller version of itself.
- Relating to recursion: Pertaining to the repeated application of a rule, algorithm, or function to its own results or to successive data.
General Use:
- The function uses a recursive algorithm to calculate the factorial. (The function repeatedly applies the same rule to smaller inputs to compute the result.)
- The definition of "ancestor" is recursive: a parent is an ancestor, and the ancestor of an ancestor is also an ancestor. (The concept is defined by referring back to itself.)
In Computing/Mathematics:
- Recursive functions are powerful but must have a clear base case to avoid infinite loops.
- The directory search was implemented with a recursive method to traverse all subfolders.
Recursive definition: A definition that defines something in terms of itself, typically with a base case.
- In mathematics, the Fibonacci sequence has a recursive definition.
Recursively enumerable: A set for which there is a computational procedure that can list its members (a concept in computer science and mathematical logic).
- The halting problem is concerned with recursively enumerable sets.
Recursively (adverb): In a recursive manner.
- The problem was solved recursively by breaking it into smaller sub-problems.
Recursion (noun): The process of defining or solving something in terms of itself.
- Recursion is a fundamental concept in computer science.
Recursiveness (noun): The quality or state of being recursive.
- Iterative: Involving repetition. (Note: often implies using loops, while implies self-reference, but they can be related concepts for solving problems.)
- Self-referential: Referring to itself.
- Non-recursive: Not involving recursion.
- Iterative (in specific technical contexts): When contrasting methodologies, solutions use explicit loops rather than function self-calls.
Recursive function: A function that calls itself.
- Designing a recursive function requires careful planning to ensure it terminates.
Tail recursion: A special form of recursion where the recursive call is the last operation in the function.
- Some programming languages optimize tail recursion to improve performance.
Recursive data structure: A data structure that contains smaller instances of the same type of structure (e.g., a tree or a linked list).
- A binary tree is a classic example of a recursive data structure.
- of or relating to a recursion