Does Go Have an Infinite Stack for Recursion, and What Are Its Limitations?

Go's Infinite Stack: Exploring the Limits of Recursion

In the world of programming, understanding stack memory is crucial for efficient code execution. Go stands out in this regard, as its goroutines offer the illusion of an infinite stack, contrasting with Node.JS, which enforces a limit on call depth.

Infinite Stack in Go

Unlike Node.JS, Go goroutines do not have a fixed stack size. Instead, they start small and dynamically grow or shrink to meet the demands of the code. This flexibility creates the perception of an infinite stack.

Limitations and Anti-Patterns

However, there is indeed a limit in Go, not in terms of call depth, but in the amount of stack memory that can be allocated. The runtime enforces this limit, typically set at hundreds of MBs. While extremely large recursion calls can exhaust this memory, it's not a common occurrence in everyday programming.

Nevertheless, such extreme recursive code is generally considered an anti-pattern in Go. Efficient solutions often involve alternative approaches, such as iterators or tail-call optimizations.

Example Demonstration

Consider the following Go example, similar to the Node.JS code you provided:

package main

import "fmt"

func run(tick int) (int) {
    if (tick < 1e9) { // Increased max recursion to 1e9 to demonstrate the limit
        return run(tick + 1)
    }

    return 0
}

func main() {
    fmt.Println(run(0))
}

This code will run successfully for most call depths, but attempting to use a recursion depth of 1e9 (one billion) will cause a stack overflow and crash the program. This is because it exceeds the 1 GB stack memory limit on most 64-bit machines.

Conclusion

While Go goroutines offer a flexible stack that simulates an infinite call stack, there is still a practical limit to the amount of stack memory that can be allocated. To promote efficient code, it's best to avoid excessive recursion and explore alternative solutions for complex tasks.

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