In this chapter you’ll:

• Learn the concept of recursion.

• Write and use recursive functions.

• Determine the base case and recursion step in a recursive algorithm.

• Learn how the system handles recursive function calls.

• Compare recursion and iteration, including when it’s best to use each approach.

• Search for a given value in an array using linear search and binary search.

• Sort arrays using the simple iterative selection and insertion sort algorithms.

• Sort arrays using the more complex but higher-performance recursive merge sort algorithm.

• Use Big O notation to compare the efficiencies of searching and sorting algorithms.

• Use Seaborn and Matplotlib to build an animated selection sort algorithm visualization.

• In the exercises, implement additional sorting algorithms and animated visualizations, and determine the Big O of additional algorithms.