Overview

An accessible yet rigorous crash course on recursive programming using Python and JavaScript examples. Recursion, and recursive algorithms, have a reputation for being intimidating. They're seen as an advanced computer science topic often brought up in coding interviews. Moreover, coders often perceive the use of a recursive algorithm as a sophisticated solution that only true programmers can produce. But there's nothing magical about recursion. Its fearsome reputation is more a product of poor teaching than of the complexity of recursion itself. This book teaches the basics of recursion, exposes the ways it's often poorly taught, and clarifies the fundamental principles behind all recursive algorithms. It is project-based, containing complete, runnable programs in both Python and JavaScript, and covers several common recursive algorithms for tasks like calculating factorials, producing numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, tree traversal, maze solving, binary search, quicksort and merge sort, Karatsuba multiplication, permutations and combinations, and solving the eight queens problem. The book also explains tail call optimization and memoization, concepts often employed to produce effective recursive algorithms, and the call stack, which is a critical part of how recursive functions work but is almost never explicitly pointed out in lessons on recursion. The last chapter, on fractals, culminates with examples of the beautiful fractal shapes recursion can produce.

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9781718502024

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This book takes the mystery out of recursion. By the time you finish it, you'll see recursion as a powerful technique, but also a technique usable by mere mortals. -John D. Cook ... this book is a worthy read for a developer who wants to deepen their knowledge of advanced programming topics. While basic recursion is included in early programming curriculum, it typically stops at examples that can be reproduced with iteration. In this book, Al Sweigart starts are these basics and quickly expands to include types of algorithms that benefit from recursion, such as tree traversal and divide-and-conquer. Though focused on those actively interviewing for engineering roles, the book is also a good fit for professional development, an engineering book club, or a brain tickler for your technical book shelf. The real life projects at the end are especially informative, which is why I think... (this review 'recurs' to the beginning) -Adam DuVander, @adamd, Founder of EveryDeveloper I have felt for a long time that I had a pretty good handle on the subject of recursion . . . Thanks to Al Sweigart's new book, I think I'm far better informed than I was before. I will re-read this book a couple more times, just to add to the knowledge. -Ronnie Tucker, Editor, Full Circle Magazine

This book takes the mystery out of recursion. By the time you finish it, you'll see recursion as a powerful technique, but also a technique usable by mere mortals. -John D. Cook

Author Information

Al Sweigart is a software developer and tech book author living in Houston. Python is his favorite programming language, and he is the developer of several open source modules for it. His other books are freely available under a Creative Commons license on his website at https-//www.inventwithpython.com/.

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