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Author jessevsilverman
Recipients docs@python, jessevsilverman
Date 2021-01-27.18:42:22
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Message-id <1611772942.43.0.309900316345.issue43042@roundup.psfhosted.org>
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Content
In section 4.6 of the tutorial, we find:

"When a function calls another function, a new local symbol table is created for that call."

Now, perhaps because we were just looking at a function that people will often ask you to write both recursively and non-recursively and then ask which one you would use and why...I was thinking "Wait -- when a function calls itself recursively, obviously they need a new local symbol table or local variables won't work??"

I may be confused, in which case the doc is fine and I personally need to better understand the moral equivalent of activation record / stack frame in Python.

If I am not, given that recursion isn't much more computer science oriented or obscure than Fibonacci sequences, could it not be worth the investment of a few extra words as:

"When a function calls another function, or calls itself recursively, a new local symbol table is created for that call."
History
Date User Action Args
2021-01-27 18:42:22jessevsilvermansetrecipients: + jessevsilverman, docs@python
2021-01-27 18:42:22jessevsilvermansetmessageid: <1611772942.43.0.309900316345.issue43042@roundup.psfhosted.org>
2021-01-27 18:42:22jessevsilvermanlinkissue43042 messages
2021-01-27 18:42:22jessevsilvermancreate