What are the differences between iterative and recursive approaches in programming?

What are the differences between iterative and recursive approaches in programming?

Iterative approaches use loops to repeat a block of code, while recursive approaches call a function within itself.

Can you give me examples of both in Python?

Sure! An iterative example in Python would be using a for loop to calculate factorial, while a recursive example would involve a function that calls itself to compute the factorial.

How do these approaches differ in terms of performance?

Iterative solutions generally use less memory and are faster due to less overhead, while recursive solutions can lead to stack overflow if the recursion depth is too high.

Are there languages where recursion is preferred over iteration?

Yes, functional programming languages like Haskell often prefer recursion due to their design, which emphasizes immutability and function calls.