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Can anyone explain recursion in Python?

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In Python, recursion is a function calling itself using the iterative approach to do complex tasks. Here is an example to find factorial of a number using recursion:

 def factorial(x):

    """This is a recursive function

    to find the factorial of an integer"""

    if x == 1:

        return 1

    else:

        return (x * factorial(x-1))

Here, factorial() is a recursion function and it is calling itself by decreasing the number by 1 in each iteration. This factorial() function call itself until the x value equals to 1.

Here is how the recursion call can be explained:

factorial(4)              # 1st recursive call with 4

4 * factorial(3)          # 2nd recursive call with 3

4 * 3 * factorial(2)      # 3rd recursive call with 2

4 * 3 * 2 * factorial(1)  # 4th recursive call with 1

4 * 3 * 2 * 1                  # return from 4th call as number=1

4 * 3 * 2                      # return from 3rd recursive call

4 * 6                          # return from 2nd recursive call

24                             # return from 1st recursive call

If you want to learn Python, you can check out this Python course by Intellipaat that provides Instructor-led training, hands-on experience, and certification also.

You can watch this video on Python for beginners to know about recursion.

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