What does the term "recursion" refer to in coding?

The term "recursion" in coding specifically refers to a technique where a function calls itself in order to solve a problem. This approach allows the function to tackle complex problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable subproblems of the same type. Each recursive call generally works towards a base case, which is a straightforward instance of the problem that can be solved directly. The ability to self-reference in this way is fundamental in many programming situations, such as navigating tree structures, performing operations on lists, or solving mathematical problems like factorials and Fibonacci numbers.

Additionally, recursion is powerful because it can lead to elegant solutions with fewer lines of code compared to iterative counterparts. However, it is essential to ensure that every recursive function has a base case to prevent infinite loops, which could lead to stack overflow errors.