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Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter?

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On Sun, Jan 18, 2015 at 4:30 AM, Albert van der Horst
<albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl> wrote:
> The proper technique is make the global local to the normal subroutine,
> then make the subroutine with those parameters you don't want to see
> also local to that subroutine.
> E.g.
>
> def fib(n):
>     ' return the n-th Fibonacci number '
>     a,b = 0,1
>     def fib1(ap,bp):
>        ' for f_n,f_n+1, return f_n+1,f_n+2 '
>        return bp,ap+b
>     for i in xrange(n):
>        a,b = fib1(a,b)
>     return a

That's a fairly useless use of a nested function... you could in-line
it without any effort at all:

def fib(n):
    a,b = 0,1
    for i in xrange(n):
        a,b = b,a+b
    return a

Even in the OP's example, where the inner function needs to call
itself recursively, it doesn't need to be a closure; a simple
out-of-line helper function does work (and has already been suggested;
Gregory was, I think, first). In my opinion, it's not materially
different from having an argument with a default.

ChrisA

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Thread

recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Tim <jtim.arnold@gmail.com> - 2015-01-16 09:49 -0800
  Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2015-01-17 04:56 +1100
    Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Rustom Mody <rustompmody@gmail.com> - 2015-01-16 10:22 -0800
  Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Peter Otten <__peter__@web.de> - 2015-01-16 19:34 +0100
    Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Tim <jtim.arnold@gmail.com> - 2015-01-16 10:48 -0800
    Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Yawar Amin <yawar.amin@gmail.com> - 2015-01-16 18:23 -0800
      Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Yawar Amin <yawar.amin@gmail.com> - 2015-01-16 21:29 -0800
      Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2015-01-18 10:25 +1300
  Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2015-01-17 11:20 +1300
    Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2015-01-17 10:49 +1100
  Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python@pearwood.info> - 2015-01-17 21:15 +1100
    Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Roy Smith <roy@panix.com> - 2015-01-17 10:20 -0500
      Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Gregory Ewing <greg.ewing@canterbury.ac.nz> - 2015-01-18 10:07 +1300
  Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? albert@spenarnc.xs4all.nl (Albert van der Horst) - 2015-01-17 17:30 +0000
    Re: recursive function: use a global or pass a parameter? Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> - 2015-01-18 06:27 +1100

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