What are the performance differences between iterative and recursive approaches?

What are the performance differences between iterative and recursive approaches?

Iterative approaches generally use less memory and are faster due to lower overhead, while recursion can be more elegant but may lead to stack overflow.

Can you give me an example of both approaches?

Sure! For calculating factorial, an iterative approach uses a loop, while a recursive approach calls the function within itself.

Which one is better for large datasets?

For large datasets, iterative methods are often preferred due to their efficiency and lower memory usage.

Are there any exceptions where recursion is better?

Yes, recursion can be better for problems that naturally fit a recursive structure, like tree traversals or certain algorithms like quicksort.