C Programming- Recursion in C

In this article we will learn about C Programming- Recursion in C. A function that calls itself is known as a recursive function. And, this technique is known as recursion. Please read my previous article about C here about C Program to Add Two Numbers Using Functions.

• The recursion continues until some condition is met to prevent it.
• To prevent infinite recursion, if…else statement (or similar approach) can be used where one branch makes the recursive call, and other doesn’t.

Example of Sum of Natural Numbers Using Recursion

#include<stdio.h>

int sum(int n);

int main(){
int number, result;

printf("Enter a positive integer: ");
scanf("%d", &number);

result= sum(number);

printf("sum= %d", result);

return 0;

}

// create recursiion function

int sum(int n){
    if(n!=0){
        //sum of function calls itself
        return n + sum(n-1);
    }else{
        return n;
    }
}

Output

Enter a positive integer:3
sum = 6

Code Explanation

• Initially, the sum() is called from the main() function with number passed as an argument.
• Suppose, the value of n inside sum() is 3 initially. During the next function call, 2 is passed to the sum() function. This process continues until n is equal to 0.
• When n is equal to 0, the if condition fails and the else part is executed returning the sum of integers ultimately to the main() function.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Recursion

Recursion makes program elegant. However, if performance is vital, use loops instead as recursion is usually much slower.

Conclusion

We discussed here about C Program to Add Two Numbers Using Functions.

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