What are some real-world applications of recursion in Python?

What are some real-world applications of recursion in Python?

Recursion is often used in algorithms like sorting, searching, and traversing data structures. For example, it can be used in tree traversals, such as in binary trees.

Can you give me an example of a recursive function in Python?

Sure! Here's a simple example of a recursive function that calculates the factorial of a number:

def factorial(n):
    if n == 0:
        return 1
    else:
        return n * factorial(n - 1)

What are the advantages of using recursion over iteration?

Recursion can lead to cleaner and more understandable code, especially for problems that have a natural recursive structure, like tree traversals. However, it can be less efficient due to function call overhead and stack depth limitations.

Are there any downsides to using recursion?

Yes, recursion can lead to stack overflow if the recursion depth is too high. It can also be less efficient in terms of memory usage compared to iterative solutions.