Week 4 : Recursion

In week 4 of CSC148, we have broached the topic of recursion. Recursive functions are functions that call themselves. They have a conditional structure that specifies a base case (or cases): a condition (or conditions) that will stop the function from making calls to itself.  The also have a general case, which specifies the method in which recursive sub-calls will be combined. Essentially, the general case is the part where the function calls itself. It is important that you designate a base case, or the function call will reach a maximum recursion depth, and result in a stack overflow.

What is this legendary stack you speak of? Recursion is actually a method of using stacks to achieve a task. However, call stacks are stored in a computer's memory, and these stacks cannot become infinitely large, as computers do not have an indefinite amount of memory space. Thus, when a recursive function has a bug, and never reaches a base case, or the computer will eventually runs out of memory and crashes the program. This is called a "stack overflow".

If a task can be divided into identical, smaller sub-tasks, this is a good indication that you can perform this task by recursion.

Although I understand the concept of recursion, I am finding it difficult to actually put it into practice. Specifically, I have difficulties selecting and coding the base case and the general case of a recursive function. Parsing and developing recursive functions is something that will take some time to get the hang of. Hopefully I will be able to wrap my head recursion and get a strong handle of this very essential concept.

Also, whimsies left me a nice comment on my last post. I decided to return the favour and leave a comment on her page as well.

Week 3: Why Geeks Need to Write

For week three of CSC148 SLOGs, we have been assigned the topic of "Why Geeks Need to Write". This presents an important topic in computing, as it articulates the necessity of writing and written correspondence.  Writing is a means of delivering information to others, and analyzing your own understanding of a topic.

Knowing is not enough. Communicating what you know is a necessity of life, and english is a medium through which we can deliver this information to others. Whether it be filling out a document, writing a paper for a class, or reporting on a work project; writing never truly disappears from our lives.

Much like syntax is important in our coding, it is also important in our writing. In fact, coding and english are both languages in which we can convey information. Sufficient context, eloquence, and precision are required in both of these languages.

Written information is easily revisited and a great means of recording facts and opinions. The brain is notorious for overwriting and misplacing information that we learn. Graphite, digitized text, and ink are excellent mediums for preserving information that could otherwise be lost. Recording the facts we learn, the concepts we find difficult, and the new information we derived from our learning processes, are methods that can be used to harness our minds.

Often, when attempting to convey information to others, we are able to identify any gaps in our understanding of a topic, or inconsistencies in our theoretical knowledge. Additionally, by conveying information, we are often forced to summarize information in a concise but informative way, thereby helping us to distinguish important information. Learning, and sharing what we have learned, can often be one and the same thing.

A miracle!

I went into the CSC165 exam with a mark in the high 90s, and left the exam completely convinced that I had not managed to achieve a 40% on the exam. Since the course requires you to achieve a grade of 40% on the exam in order to pass the course, I was convinced that I had failed and would be doomed to failure. After an excruciating month of waiting, I received my final grade. An A. I don't think words can describe the simultaneous feelings of relief and inadequacy that flooded over me. Relief, as I had, through some miracle of God, passed. Inadequacy, as I feel that it was most probably a huge fluke. Regardless, I will take what I can get. A new semester has begun. I wish everyone luck =).