Question

I simply want to write some code that makes use of recursion of functions to raise a base to its power. I know that recursion is not the most right way to do things in C++, but I just want to explore the concept a bit. The program asks the user for a base and an exponent and then console outs the answer. Here’s the program I’ve written:

#include <iostream>
#include <math.h>
using namespace std;

int raisingTo(int, int);
int main()
{
    int base, exponent;
    cout << "Enter base value: ";
    cin >> base;
    cout << "Enter exponent value: ";
    cin >> exponent;
    int answer = raisingTo(base, exponent);
    cout << "The answer is: " << answer << endl;
    char response;
    cin >> response;
    return 0;
}

int raisingTo(int base, int exponent)
{
    if (exponent > 0)
        return 1;
    else if (exponent = 0)
    {
        int answer = (int) pow((double)base, raisingTo(base, (exponent - 1)));
        return answer;
    }
}

The funny thing is, when I run this program, it keeps returning the answer as ‘1’! Can someone please help me on this?

Answer 1

int raisingTo(int base, unsigned int exponent)
{
    if (exponent == 0)
        return 1;
    else
        return base * raisingTo(base, exponent - 1);
}

You have 3 main problems:

• You don’t have to use pow function
• To compare number you should use == as = is an assignment not compare.
• You missed that if exponent is equal 0 you should return 1.