PL/SQL Recursive Function

In PL/SQL a recursive FUNCTION is a function which either calls itself or is in a potential cycle of function calls. As the definition specifies, there are two types of recursive functions. When a subprogram calls itself, it is referred to as a recursive call and the process is known as recursion.

PL/SQL Recursive Function example

The following PL/SQL show how to calculate the factorial of a number using Recursive FUNCTION:

Example

DECLARE 
   num number; 
   factorial number;  
   
FUNCTION calculateFact(x number) 
RETURN number  
IS 
   f number; 
BEGIN 
   IF x = 0 THEN 
      f := 1; 
   ELSE 
      f := x * calculateFact(x-1); 
   END IF; 
RETURN f; 
END;  

BEGIN 
   num:= 6; 
   factorial := calculateFact(num); 
   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(' Factorial '|| num || ' is ' || factorial); 
END;

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