The use of conceptual maps for the expression of recursive algorithms

Abstract

We study the use of conceptual maps to write recursive algorithms. They are written to answer questions of the kind how much is the value of a function. Conceptual maps are graphic tools to organize and represent knowledge. They include concepts and relationships between concepts. Concepts are written inside boxes and the relationships are words written over a line that connects concepts. We use pattern matching to separate the cases of function arguments or conditions over the arguments. We have concepts for each possible value of the arguments. Recursion is explicit. We give a name to the result of each recursive call (in case of function) and indicate the value of the parameters to the function. We have also recursive procedures in which case we use the recursive call. It is an alternative to flowcharts where instead of diamonds we have recursion.