What is memoization?

Can you explain what memoization is?

Sure! Memoization is an optimization technique used to speed up function calls by storing the results of expensive function calls and returning the cached result when the same inputs occur again.

How does it work in practice?

In practice, memoization involves using a data structure, like a dictionary, to save the results of function calls. When the function is called, it first checks if the result is already in the cache before performing the computation.

Can you give me an example of memoization in code?

Absolutely! Here's a simple example in Python:

memo = {}

def fibonacci(n):
    if n in memo:
        return memo[n]
    if n <= 1:
        return n
    memo[n] = fibonacci(n-1) + fibonacci(n-2)
    return memo[n]

What are the benefits of using memoization?

The main benefits of memoization are improved performance and reduced computation time, especially for recursive functions with overlapping subproblems.