Functions Calling Themselves

Recursion is when a function calls itself to solve a smaller part of the same problem.

Example: Factorial

function pow(x, n) {
  if (n == 1) return x; // Base of recursion
  return x * pow(x, n - 1); // Recursive step
}

Each function call creates a " frame " in the stack where its variables are stored.

A large number of nested calls can lead to a Maximum call stack size exceeded error.

Caution

The recursion depth limit in browsers is usually around 10,000. If your task requires more, use a standard loop.

Tip

Recursion makes code incredibly clean when working with tree structures (like a site menu or folders on a disk).