When an entity calls itself, then it is known as recursive. And, when there is a repetition or loop, it is known as iterative. Let’s discuss some differences between Recursion and Iteration.
What is Recursion?
In the world of computer science, recursion is a method of calling a function itself within its code. In an easy manner, we can say that a function that calls itself is known as a recursive function. In recursion, it is important to specify an exit or termination condition, otherwise, it can occur in the infinite loop situation.
What is Iteration?
When there is a repetition or loop, it is known as iterative. In Iteration, we prefer loops to perform the group of instructions repetitively until the state of the iteration becomes wrong.
Difference between Recursion and Iteration
| S.No. | Recursion | Iteration |
| 1 | Recursion is the method of calling a function itself. | There is a repeated implementation of the bunch of instructions. |
| 2 | In case of recursion, we need to define the termination condition within the recursive function. | Here, we need to define the termination condition and the definition of the loop. |
| 3 | The code size is smaller than the iteration’s code size. | The code size is large as compared to recursion. |
| 4 | The speed of recursion is slow. | It is fast as compared to recursion. |
| 5 | We mostly prefer recursion when there is no concern about time complexity and the size of code is small. | We prefer iteration when we have to manage the time complexity and the code size is large. |
| 6 | It has high time complexity. | The time complexity is lower as compared to recursion. |
| 7 | It requires more memory. | It requires less memory. |
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