midRecursion
What is Tail Recursion?
Updated Apr 28, 2026
Short answer
A form of recursion where the recursive call is the very last operation performed by the function.
Deep explanation
Intermediate recursion focuses on optimization and advanced patterns like backtracking. A form of recursion where the recursive call is the very last operation performed by the function.
Real-world example
File system crawlers (scanning directories and sub-directories).
Common mistakes
- Thinking all recursion is tail-recursive
- the result must not depend on local calculations after the call.
Follow-up questions
- Does Python support TCO?