A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Second Edition, 2nd Edition

Chapter 11Learning to Write in Recursive

In the previous chapter, you learned what recursion is and how it works. However, I found on my own learning journey that even once I understood how recursion works, I still struggled to write my own recursive functions.

Through deliberate practice and taking note of various recursive patterns, I discovered some techniques that helped me to learn to “write in recursive” more easily, and I’d like to share them with you. Along the way, you’ll discover additional areas where recursion shines.

Note that we will not be discussing the efficiency of recursion in this chapter. Recursion can actually have a terribly negative impact on the time complexity of an algorithm, but this is the subject of the next chapter. ...