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Why does the for loop repeat in this recursion? (lemm.ee)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/programming@programming.dev
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I used the debugger to examine this code but not understanding a couple areas.

  1. Why does the for loop repeat after it exits to print a new line? If it exits the loop, shouldn't it be done with it?
  2. Why is n incremented and not i as stated with i++?

int main(void)
{
    int height = get_int("Height: ");

    draw(height);
}

void draw(int n)
{
    if (n <= 0)
    {
        return;
    }

    draw(n - 1);

    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)
    {
        printf("#");
    }
    printf("\n");
}
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[–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

I wrote an equivalent version just using nested loops - reading it might help you understand why the recursion works the way it does.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    Thanks. I did see that. I have a general understanding of how recursion works I think where the function calls itself again and again but I don't get why the code (for loop) below the draw(n - 1) is recursive.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    The code below the draw(n - 1) isn't recursive... the call to draw(n - 1) is the recursion.

    Sometimes, it can be helpful to invert recursion. Think about what draw(0) would be and write it down... then compute draw(1) using the value you previously computed for draw(0).

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