The Recursive Book of Recursion : Ace the Coding Interview with Python and JavaScript

Al Sweigart

ISBN 10: 1718502028 / ISBN 13: 9781718502024

Published by Random House LLC US Aug 2022, 2022

About this Item

Neuware - An accessible yet rigorous crash course on recursive programming using Python and JavaScript examples.Recursion has an intimidating reputation: it s considered to be an advanced computer science topic frequently brought up in coding interviews. But there s nothing magical about recursion.The Recursive Book of Recursion uses Python and JavaScript examples to teach the basics of recursion, exposing the ways that it s often poorly taught and clarifying the fundamental principles of all recursive algorithms. You ll learn when to use recursive functions (and, most importantly, when not to use them), how to implement the classic recursive algorithms often brought up in job interviews, and how recursive techniques can help solve countless problems involving tree traversal, combinatorics, and other tricky topics.This project-based guide contains complete, runnable programs to help you learn:How recursive functions make use of the call stack, a critical data structure almost never discussed in lessons on recursionHow the head-tail and leap of faith techniques can simplify writing recursive functionsHow to use recursion to write custom search scripts for your filesystem, draw fractal art, create mazes, and moreHow optimization and memoization make recursive algorithms more efficientAl Sweigart has built a career explaining programming concepts in a fun, approachable manner. If you ve shied away from learning recursion but want to add this technique to your programming toolkit, or if you re racing to prepare for your next job interview, this book is for you.

Seller Inventory # 9781718502024

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Recursive Book of Recursion : Ace the Coding Interview with Python and JavaScript
• Publisher: Random House LLC US Aug 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1718502028
• ISBN 13: 9781718502024
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu

About this title

Synopsis

Recursion, and recursive algorithms, have a reputation for being intimidating. They're seen as an advanced computer science topic often brought up in coding interviews. Moreover, coders often perceive the use of a recursive algorithm as a sophisticated solution that only true programmers can produce. But there s nothing magical about recursion. Its fearsome reputation is more a product of poor teaching than of the complexity of recursion itself. This book teaches the basics of recursion, exposes the ways it's often poorly taught, and clarifies the fundamental principles behind all recursive algorithms. It is project-based, containing complete, runnable programs in both Python and JavaScript, and covers several common recursive algorithms for tasks like calculating factorials, producing numbers in the Fibonacci sequence, tree traversal, maze solving, binary search, quicksort and merge sort, Karatsuba multiplication, permutations and combinations, and solving the eight queens problem. The book also explains tail call optimization and memoization, concepts often employed to produce effective recursive algorithms, and the call stack, which is a critical part of how recursive functions work but is almost never explicitly pointed out in lessons on recursion. The last chapter, on fractals, culminates with examples of the beautiful fractal shapes recursion can produce.

About the Author

Al Sweigart is a software developer and tech book author living in Houston. Python is his favorite programming language, and he is the developer of several open source modules for it. His other books are freely available under a Creative Commons license on his website at https://www.inventwithpython.com/.