Recursion (again)

Here we go again with recursion. This seems to be a bit of a recurring (see what I did there?) topic, as it should be, because of its prominence and importance in Python programming. Recursion is, at it's core, a very simple concept in computer science. It is code that calls upon itself inside of the written code repeatedly (or defining something in terms of itself), iterating on smaller and smaller levels of itself, in order to successfully complete what the code was written to do. It is written without loops, such as the "for" and "while" loops, and since it can be carried on infinitely smaller and smaller levels, that allows for it to tackle some very large problems. Recursion code also tends to be much shorter and less complex than most other forms of code, and so that allows for much simpler code that is easier to navigate. It is also capable of dealing with things that create smaller instances of themselves (recursive data structures), like tuples within tuples for example, in a nice and simple fashion.

While "for" loops and "while" loops and other common forms of coding are incredibly useful for programming, and capable of a great many things, some thing are just made so much easier through the use of recursion. Recursion is an incredibly useful form of programming, as it is capable of a great many things, like mentioned before. Due to its capability to carry out the code infinitely, it can deal with some problems with multiple levels much faster and more efficiently than any kind of loop might be able to. Because of this, programmers may find this kind of code better for problems that require a great many iterations in order to be completed. This is one of the major reasons for which this type of programming is so desirable to be used. People always desire efficiency, especially when it is simple, as it is with recursion. It is also a valuable form of programming to know, as it can keep written code rather short, allowing for pleasant style. This elegant shortness also allows for simpler error searching if any problems arise, and so it makes the life of any programmer much easier when it can be used. Ideally, in my opinion, when recursion can be used, it should be.