🔁 Recursion — Think Smaller to Solve Bigger

Recursion is when a function calls itself to solve a problem by breaking it down into smaller subproblems.

It’s everywhere — from algorithms to UI rendering.

📦 Real-world examples:

• File system traversal
• DOM rendering in React
• Tree/graph traversal
• Backtracking problems (e.g. Sudoku, N-Queens)

🧠 Key idea:

Every recursive function should have:

1. A base case — when to stop
2. A recursive case — how to reduce the problem

function countDown(n) {
  if (n === 0) return;
  console.log(n);
  countDown(n - 1);
}

🚨 Gotchas:

• Recursion can be elegant, but deep recursion may lead to stack overflow.
• Sometimes it's better to refactor to an iterative solution.

⚡ TL;DR

• Recursion helps solve problems by thinking in terms of subproblems.
• Just make sure it has a clear base case to avoid infinite loops.
• It's powerful, but use it wisely — especially with large inputs.

💬 Want a post with real coding problems that use recursion? Let me know!