Order of Execution
In a recursive function, the position in which additional statements (i.e., statements other than the recursive call itself) are placed is important. In the simple case of a function calling itself only once, a statement placed before the recursive call will be executed first in the outermost stack frame, while a statement placed after the recursive call will be executed first in the innermost stack frame. Consider this example:
Read more about this topic: Recursion (computer Science)
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—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)
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—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)
“It is clear that in a monarchy, where he who commands the exceution of the laws generally thinks himself above them, there is less need of virtue than in a popular government, where the person entrusted with the execution of the laws is sensible of his being subject to their direction.”
—Charles Louis de Secondat Montesquieu (1689–1755)