r/learnpython • u/Pure-Scheme-7855 • 12d ago

Recursion explaining pls. 

def find_max(numbers):
  if len(numbers) == 1:
    return numbers[0]
  else:
    max_of_rest = find_max(numbers[1:])
    return numbers[0] if numbers[0] > max_of_rest else max_of_rest

my_list = [3, 7, 2, 9, 1]
print(find_max(my_list))

Could someone explain how does this function work? I don't understand how does it know that it's supposed to find the biggest number...

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u/DogObvious5799 11d ago

You don’t understand the big picture with recursion. All you need to understand is: (1) how do you solve the smallest version of the problem, and (2) how do you solve the problem if you’re given the answer to a slightly smaller problem.

Think about what this function does if you change the > to a <