Scala Recursive Functions

Scala Functions

Recursive functions play an important role in functional programming languages.

Scala also supports recursive functions.

Recursive functions mean that a function can call itself.

The above example uses a recursive function to calculate the factorial:

object Test {
　　　def main(args: Array[String]) {
　　　　　　for (i <-　1　to　10)
　　　　　　　　　println(i　+　"The factorial of: ="　+　factorial(i)
　　　}
　　　
　　　def factorial(n: BigInt): BigInt = {　　
　　　　　　if (n <=　1)
　　　　　　　　　1　　
　　　　　　else　　　　
　　　　　　n　*　factorial(n　-　1)
　　　}
}

Execute the above code, the output result is:

$ scalac Test.scala
$ scala Test
1　The factorial of: =　1
2　The factorial of: =　2
3　The factorial of: =　6
4　The factorial of: =　24
5　The factorial of: =　120
6　The factorial of: =　720
7　The factorial of: =　5040
8　The factorial of: =　40320
9　The factorial of: =　362880
10　The factorial of: =　3628800

Scala Functions