A Basic Computer Concept - Recursion



Recursion is a simple but very powerful concept.

Recursion means an instance (or instances) is derived from an exactly identical instance.

Recursion can go on and on infinitely.



This famous art work by M.C. Escher is an example of recursion.

Did the right hand draw the left hand first?
Or did the left hand draw the right hand that draws the left hand ???


Recursion can be applied to solve problems effectively.

To color the following bar, we can recursively divide it up and color the smaller bits. The end result is the same as coloring the entire bar all at once.

This recursive problem solving technique is called "Divide and Conquere". It divides a big problem into identical smaller ones and solve them. It is usually easier to solve smaller problems.


In math, recursion can be used to simplify complicated problems.

Recursion is used extensively to solve computer and math problems. It can be applied to solve a lot of real life problems too!