Recursion with char[] in c#

Question

I am trying to learn recursion and have a question involving an array that needs to be reversed. I am focusing on c# but the language probably doesn't matter a whole lot because my function is not using any libraries.

Here is my code:

char[] ReverseString(char[] s, int i = 0)
{
 char[] x = s;
 char temp = s[i];
 s[i] = s[s.Length - (i + 1)];
 s[s.Length - (i + 1)] = temp;
 i++;
 if (i < (s.Length) / 2)
 {
 ReverseString(s, i);
 }
 return x;
}

Any suggestions on how I should improve my function (maybe time complexity or using libraries (nuget packages)) is appreciated as well.

• Peter Csala: The same problem has been address many times: 1, 2, 3, etc...
• aepot: Tip: System.Linq is great when you want to do something with arrays or collections string hello = "Hello World!"; string olleh = new string(hello.Reverse().ToArray()); Output: !dlroW olleH.

Answer 1

Honestly, this is not a very good problem to do recursively, just pick another problem. Here's a better one: take in an integer, and print the sum of the digits.

Some general feedback:

• ReverseString returns something, but you ignore its return value
• You make x, but it's a shallow copy of s -- modifying x and s do the same thing, and returning them would do the same thing. Just don't declare 'x' at all.
• See how short you can make this. It's not good general advice, but it can be good advice when learning recursion.

One last tip when learning recursion: next time, try to do it without modifying a single variable. Just use expressions and return values. Again, it's not always how you should write real code, but it will help you learn faster.

• stupidQuestions: Thanks I am following a guide on LeetCode and this was the first problem they gave but I will try printing the amount of digits in an int. (I have done this but not recursively). But could you explain your first point about ignoring the return value?
• Zachary Vance: Print the SUM of the digits, not the NUMBER of digits