FAQ: Recursion: Conceptual - Call Stacks and Execution Frames

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This community-built FAQ covers the “Call Stacks and Execution Frames” exercise from the lesson “Recursion: Conceptual”.

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This exercise can be found in the following Codecademy content:

Learn Recursion: Python

FAQs on the exercise Call Stacks and Execution Frames

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2

So the call stack is also used when calling functions using the return value of other functions as arguments?

3

When a recursive function enters the base case without any recursive calls, will the call stack be empty? Why or why not?

I just want to get it right. So, the answer to this question is NO, because we entered teh base case but the recursive call didn’t happen (for some reason?), meaning we didn’t perform an action with the base case…?

how do you answer this correctly?

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4

I have the same doubt too. I guess the call stack would never be called because our recursive function would already have returned a value from the base case. So, there’s no purpose for the computer to keep track of the argument and the function invocations.

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5

What a coincidence !!!
I had asked exactly the same question in stack overflow. Check it out. I think you will find it helpful.

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6

what are recursions useful for in real world application?
and when would they not be useful?

if anyone could provide examples of both, they would be greatly appreciated.

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8

When a recursive function enters the base case without any recursive calls, will the call stack be empty?

Why or why not?

An interpreter would surely add every function call to the call stack? If there is no recursive element, then the call stack has a size of 1 so is effectively a call node, but it’s still there keeping track of where we are in the flow of the program.

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