Question

A recursive function is a function that: question 6 options:

a) calls itself, directly or indirectly.
b) takes 3 arguments.
c) is inside of another function.
d) returns a double.

Answer 1

A recursive function is one that calls itself, enabling complex problems to be broken down into simpler subproblems.

A classic example is the factorial function, used in various sorting and tree traversal algorithms.

Therefore, the correct answer is: option a) calls itself, directly or indirectly.

Step-by-step explanation:

A recursive function is a function that calls itself, directly or indirectly. This means that within the function's body, there is a call to the function itself.

For instance, in programming, a classic example of a recursive function is the computation of factorials, where the function to calculate n! (n factorial) calls itself with the argument of (n-1), until it reaches the base case of 1.

Recursion is often used in algorithms that can be broken down into similar subproblems, such as sorting algorithms (like quicksort) and tree traversal algorithms. Recursive functions are powerful, but they must be used carefully to ensure that they have a clear termination condition and do not lead to infinite recursion.