**Course Title:** Comprehensive Java Programming: From Basics to Advanced Concepts **Section Title:** Methods and Functions in Java **Topic:** Method overloading and recursion **Table of Contents** ================= 1. [Introduction to Method Overloading](#introduction-to-method-overloading) 2. [Why Method Overloading is Useful](#why-method-overloading-is-useful) 3. [Method Overloading Example](#method-overloading-example) 4. [Method Overloading Rules](#method-overloading-rules) 5. [Introduction to Recursion](#introduction-to-recursion) 6. [How Recursion Works](#how-recursion-works) 7. [Recursion Example](#recursion-example) 8. [Recursion vs Iteration](#recursion-vs-iteration) 9. [Conclusion](#conclusion) 10. [Practice Exercise](#practice-exercise) **Introduction to Method Overloading** --------------------------- Method overloading is a feature in Java that allows you to define multiple methods with the same name but different parameters. This means you can have multiple methods with the same name but with different method signatures. The method signature consists of the method name, return type, and parameter list. **Why Method Overloading is Useful** --------------------------------- Method overloading is useful when you want to perform similar operations with different parameters. It allows you to avoid having multiple methods with different names but similar functionality. For example, you can have a method called `add` that takes two integers as parameters and returns their sum, and another method called `add` that takes two floats as parameters and returns their sum. **Method Overloading Example** --------------------------- Here is an example of method overloading: ```java public class Calculator { public int add(int a, int b) { return a + b; } public double add(double a, double b) { return a + b; } public double add(double a, double b, double c) { return a + b + c; } public static void main(String[] args) { Calculator calculator = new Calculator(); System.out.println(calculator.add(1, 2)); // Output: 3 System.out.println(calculator.add(1.5, 2.5)); // Output: 4.0 System.out.println(calculator.add(1.5, 2.5, 3.5)); // Output: 7.5 } } ``` **Method Overloading Rules** ------------------------- Here are some rules to keep in mind when using method overloading: * The method name must be the same. * The return types can be different. * The parameter lists must be different. * The order of the parameters can be the same. For more information on method overloading, visit [Oracle's documentation](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/javaOO/methods.html). **Introduction to Recursion** --------------------------- Recursion is a programming technique where a method calls itself until it reaches a base case. This technique is useful when you want to solve a problem that can be broken down into smaller sub-problems. **How Recursion Works** --------------------- Here's how recursion works: * The method calls itself with a smaller input. * The method solves the problem using the smaller input. * The method returns the result to the previous method call. * The process repeats until the base case is reached. **Recursion Example** ------------------- Here is an example of recursion: ```java public class Factorial { public int factorial(int n) { if (n == 0) { return 1; // Base case } else { return n * factorial(n - 1); // Recursive call } } public static void main(String[] args) { Factorial factorial = new Factorial(); System.out.println(factorial.factorial(5)); // Output: 120 } } ``` **Recursion vs Iteration** ----------------------- Recursion and iteration are both used to solve repetitive problems. However, recursion uses method calls to solve the problem, while iteration uses loops. Recursion can be more intuitive and easier to understand for some problems, but it can also be less efficient and more memory-intensive. For more information on recursion, visit [GeeksforGeeks](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/recursion-in-java/). **Conclusion** ---------- In this topic, you learned about method overloading and recursion in Java. Method overloading allows you to define multiple methods with the same name but different parameters, while recursion uses method calls to solve repetitive problems. **Practice Exercise** ------------------- Write a program that uses method overloading to find the maximum of two numbers, where one method takes two integers as parameters and another method takes two floats as parameters. Then, write a recursive method to find the factorial of a number. **What's Next?** --------------- In the next topic, you will learn about passing parameters by value and understanding the scope in Java. If you have any questions or need help, please leave a comment below.