Is Stack OverFlow Error possible in finite recursion?

Question

I have a recursive method that I am fairly certain is finite. However, when I run it I receive a stack overflow error. Is there another possible way to get stack overflow that I happen to be doing or what is wrong with the method?

public static void solve(int row, int column){
    if (row<=8){
        if (column>8){
            solve(row+1, 0);
        }
        if (row<=8 && column<=8 && (Rows[row][column]==0)){
            for (int a = 1; a<=9;a++){
                if (check(row, column, a)==false&&Rows[row][column]!=a){
                    Rows[row][column]=a;
                    break;
                }
            }
        }
        solve(row, column+1);
    }
}

Is Stack OverFlow Error possible in finite recursion? Yes. See also the Ackermann function. — Elliott Frisch
– Elliott Frisch, Commented Jan 8, 2016 at 3:26
Yes it is quite possible in "finite" recursion -- since it is easy to write a program that does finite recursion, but will run out of most common sizes of stack memory, a very finite resource. — Hovercraft Full Of Eels
– Hovercraft Full Of Eels, Commented Jan 8, 2016 at 3:26
Sorry, I'm currently in a hurry, so I can't write an answer about your problem, but you want if (column>8) solve(row+1, 0); else solve(row, column+1);. The single line solve(row, column+1); in your code should only be used if column>8 is false. — Tom
– Tom, Commented Jan 8, 2016 at 3:34
I'm pretty sure there's a bug in your code, and that your method is in fact infinitely recurring. — Alex
– Alex, Commented Jan 8, 2016 at 3:42
@Tom Thanks so Much. Changing that reduced the memory and it works fine now. — AntonioK
– AntonioK, Commented Jan 8, 2016 at 3:58

kostya · Accepted Answer · 2016-01-08 03:32:27Z

2

Stack size in JVM is limited so it is possible to get StackOverflow with finite recursion or even without any recursion.

You can increase JVM stack size using -Xss option:

java -Xss16M YouMainClass

answered Jan 8, 2016 at 3:32

kostya

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