Chapter 18

Question 1

base case

Answer 1

A branch of the conditional statement in a recursive function that does not give rise to further recursive calls.

Question 2

infinite recursion

Answer 2

A function that calls itself recursively without ever reaching any base case. Eventually, infinite recursion causes a runtime error.

Question 3

recursion

Answer 3

The process of calling a function that is already executing.

Question 4

recursive call

Answer 4

The statement that calls an already executing function. Recursion can also be indirect — function f can call g which calls h, and h could make a call back to f.

Question 5

recursive definition

Answer 5

A definition which defines something in terms of itself. To be useful it must include base cases which are not recursive. In this way it differs from a circular definition. Recursive definitions often provide an elegant way to express complex data structures, like a directory that can contain other directories, or a menu that can contain other menus.