When a computed function (or procedure) calls itself, it is called "recursive." If the call is via one or more other functions then this group of functions are collectively called "mutually recursive." If a function were to always call itself whenever...

// n. The phenomenon by which a constituent of a sentence dominates another instance of the same syntactic category; equivalently, the phenomenon by which the rules of a formal grammar permit a category to have another instance of the same category as...

n. The re-application of some process to its own output. Recursion is explicitly invoked in some phonological frameworks, as for example in the association of particles in Particle Phonology to yield successively the vowels I ([i]), AI ([e]), AAI AAAI...

Recursion, in mathematics and computer science, is a method of defining functions in which the function being defined is applied within its own definition. The term is also used more generally to describe a process of repeating objects in a self-similar...

Generally, when recursion is introduced to students the concept is illustrated with a toy (Towers of Hanoi) and some abstract mathematical functions (factorial, power, Fibonacci). These illustrate recursion in the same sense that counting to 10 can be used to illustrate a for loop....

Andy Kern p describes how Geomlab can introduce pupils visually to the concept of recursion. I was recently introduced to a piece of software called Geomlab1, which is a functional programming language used to describe pictures that are made up of tiles. In...

more,” said Andrew Rosenthal, the New York Times editorial-page editor. Mr. Rosenthal was discussing the newspaper’s opinion content on the Web—whether from name-brand op-ed columnists or outside contributors, blogs or video. “We’ve got composers, astronomers—the guy from Queen,” Mr. Rosenthal said by phone...