recursive
    adj 1: of or relating to a recursion

algorithmic \algorithmic\ adj.
   1. of or pertaining to an algorithm. recursive
      [1913 Webster]

   2. definitively solvable by a finite number of steps; -- said
      of mathematical or logical problems. Contrasted with
      heuristic.
      [WordNet 1.5]

recursion
mutually recursive
mutual recursion
recurse
recursive

    When a function (or procedure)
   calls itself.  Such a function is called "recursive".  If the
   call is via one or more other functions then this group of
   functions are called "mutually recursive".

   If a function will always call itself, however it is called,
   then it will never terminate.  Usually however, it first
   performs some test on its arguments to check for a "base case"
   - a condition under which it can return a value without
   calling itself.

   The canonical example of a recursive function is
   factorial:

   	factorial 0 = 1
   	factorial n = n * factorial (n-1)

   Functional programming languages rely heavily on recursion,
   using it where a procedural language would use iteration.

   See also recursion, recursive definition, tail recursion.

   [Jargon File]

   (1996-05-11)