What are the differences between recursion and iteration?

What are the differences between recursion and iteration?

Recursion involves a function calling itself to solve a problem, while iteration uses loops to repeat a block of code.

Can you give me an example of recursion?

Sure! A classic example is calculating the factorial of a number. For instance, factorial(5) = 5 * factorial(4), and so on until it reaches 1.

And how does iteration look for the same problem?

In iteration, you would use a loop. For example, you could use a for loop to multiply numbers from 1 to 5 to get the factorial.

Which one is more efficient?

Iteration is generally more memory efficient than recursion because it doesn't add to the call stack, but recursion can be more elegant and easier to read.