Discussion Post
Write a response to the discussion below about recursion and iteration with a minimum of 150 words.
In both recursion and iteration, a set of instructions is executed repeatedly. In recursion, the method making the call and the method being called is the same method (GeeksforGeeks, 2019). In iteration, a loop repeats until a certain set condition is met (GeeksforGeeks, 2019). Conditional statements terminate recursion and set values control iteration termination. Recursion may utilize less code, but it has the potential to create a lot of overhead because it is constantly calling methods (Recursion (computer science), 2021). Because Iteration relies on loops, it is much easier to find the time complexity of using iteration versus recursion (GeeksforGeeks, 2019). Because the time complexity of recursion due to overhead can be very large, it can lead to system crash. There is no danger of this with iteration since it relies on loops exclusively, which do not use as much overhead to operate. Keeping this in mind, if the number of calls will be large and speedy operation is essential, then iteration would be a better method to use. If time and overhead are not an issue but tidy code is, recursion is the better choice. Recursion involves breaking complex problems down into increasingly smaller subproblems to make them easily solvable (Recursion (computer science), 2021). In other words, the solution to the bigger problem can be found in the solution to the smaller problem. As such, it is suited for finding solutions to complex programming problems. If you know how many times you will need to loop a block of code, or the problem is a simplistic one, then iteration is a straightforward and easy way to solve the problem. Certain data structures work better using recursion or iteration, so it is important to take this into consideration when choosing which data structure to use.
The response must include a reference list. One-inch margins, double-space, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font and APA style of writing and citations.