What happens if Base Case is not Included or misplaced?
This placement position of Base Case is important because if we fail to mention the base case before the recursive call statement, the check wont happen and the recursion will go into infinity (till the memory is full).
Below is the C++ code snippit to elaborate the point:
C++
// C++ code for the above approach:#include <iostream>using namespace std;int fact(int n){ // Recursive Call (will get // called infintely) return n * fact(n - 1); // base case (this wont get executed ever) if (n <= 1) return 1;}// Drivers codeint main(){ int n = 5; // Function Call cout << fact(n) << endl; return 0;} |
Java
import java.io.*;class Main { // Recursive function to calculate factorial static int fact(int n) { // Base case if (n <= 1) { return 1; } // Recursive call return n * fact(n - 1); } // Driver's code public static void main(String[] args) { int n = 5; // Function call System.out.println(fact(n)); }} |
Python3
def fact(n): # Base case if n <= 1: return 1 # Recursive call return n * fact(n - 1)# Driver's coden = 5# Function Callprint(fact(n)) |
C#
using System;class Program{ // Recursive function to calculate factorial static int Fact(int n) { // Base case if (n <= 1) return 1; // Recursive call return n * Fact(n - 1); } // Main function static void Main() { int n = 5; // Function call Console.WriteLine(Fact(n)); }} |
Javascript
function GFG(n) { // Base case if (n <= 1) { return 1; } // Recursive call return n * GFG(n - 1);}// Driver's codeconst n = 5;console.log(GFG(n)); |
Note: Above code will run infinite times because it will never encounter the bases case thus the recursive calls will happen infinitely many times.
Summary:
A base case in recursion defines the stopping condition for the recursive function, ensuring that the recursion terminates when a specific condition is met. It plays a crucial role in breaking down complex problems into simpler ones and solving them step by step.
What is ‘Base Case’ in Recursion?
Base Case is defined as the condition in Recursive Function, which tells the function when to stop. It is the most important part of every Recursion, because if we fail to include this condition it will result in INFINITE RECURSIONS.
In the recursive program, the solution to the base case is provided and the solution to the bigger problem is expressed in terms of smaller problems.