In computability theory, course-of-values recursion is a technique for defining number-theoretic functions by recursion. In a definition of a function f by course-of-values recursion, the value of f(n+1) is computed from the sequence . The fact that such definitions can be converted into definitions using a simpler form of recursion is often used to prove that functions defined by course-of-values recursion are primitive recursive.
This article uses the convention that the natural numbers are the set {1,2,3,4,...}.
Read more about Course-of-values Recursion: Definition and Examples, Equivalence To Primitive Recursion, Application To Primitive Recursive Functions