Leaving recursive functions running forever?

Question

I came across a function where it had a setTimeout inside with a timeout growing exponentially (timeout *= 2).

let timeout = 10000
fun         


        

Answer 1

Is this something that could lead to memory leaks?

-If the function FOO() runs to completion before the timeout calls it again then no. The stack should be cleared.

Is it better/clearer to still limit the number of calls to the function?

-Yes, since your timeout variable will eventually overflow and may cause unintended results.

Would other languages use such approach or are there different mindsets outside of JS world?

-Depends on how the timer functions works for the library/language you use. But this seems like a simple way and valid way to have an increasing timeout.