the process of defining a function or calculating a number by the repeated application of an algorithm.
Origin
1925-30; < Late Latinrecursiōn- (stem of recursiō) a running back, equivalent to recurs(us) (see recourse) + -iōn--ion
Examples from the web for recursion
Putting this together brings you to an infinite recursion.
Definition of recursion, possibly with links to more information and implementations.
The number of indices in the recursion level list determines the number of levels, and thus the number of points in the profile.
Successive reflections use proportionally fewer samples, which speeds the process and provides a natural limit to recursion.
British Dictionary definitions for recursion
recursion
/rɪˈkɜːʃən/
noun
1.
the act or process of returning or running back
2.
(logic, maths) the application of a function to its own values to generate an infinite sequence of values. The recursion formula or clause of a definition specifies the progression from one term to the next, as given the base clause f(0) = 0, f(n + 1) = f(n) + 3 specifies the successive terms of the sequence f(n) = 3n
Derived Forms
recursive, adjective
Word Origin
C17: from Latin recursio, from recurrererecur
Word Origin and History for recursion
n.
1610s, from Latin recursionem (nominative recursio) "a running backward, return," noun of action from past participle stem of recurrere "run back" (see recur).
recursion in Technology
mathematics, programming When a function (or procedure) calls itself. Such a function is called "recursive". If the call is via one or more other functions then this group of functions are called "mutually recursive". If a function will always call itself, however it is called, then it will never terminate. Usually however, it first performs some test on its arguments to check for a "base case" - a condition under which it can return a value without calling itself. The canonical example of a recursive function is factorial: factorial 0 = 1 factorial n = n * factorial (n-1) Functional programming languages rely heavily on recursion, using it where a procedural language would use iteration. See also recursion, recursive definition, tail recursion. [Jargon File] (1996-05-11)