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

This is not a recursive function call. The call to setTimeout will cause foo to be called by the JavaScript event loop at a later time.

This code will not cause a stack overflow or any such problems. It should be completely safe.

To understand how this works in-depth, I suggest reading up on the JS event loop and microtasks.

Answer 2

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.