Thread: Strange function output.

I'm just doing a simple excercise today and I wrote this fuction--ALG--And I'm getting the weirdest outputs. I have taken the liberty to insert a printf right before the return, and to my confusion it prints the right awnser however one that differs with my real output.

Code:

#include <stdio.h>

    int alg( int n, int cnt )	{
   	
      if( n == 1 )	{
      	
      	//dismay
         printf("%d", cnt);
         return cnt;
         
      }
      
      else if ( n%2 == 0 )
         alg( n/2, ++cnt);
            
      else 
         alg( (3*n)+1, ++cnt);
   
   }

    int main()	{
   
      printf(" %d ", alg(10, 1) );
      return 0;
   
   }

Btw, I use to have this real handy dandy visual debugger in my jgrasp/cygwin superhero combo plus but ever since I updated cygwin it went away. If anyone can point out that package to me it would be great. Thx.

Brilliant!

Code:

#include <stdio.h>

    int alg( int n, int cnt )	{
   	
      if( n == 1 )
         return cnt;
         
      else if ( n%2 == 0 )
         return alg( n/2, ++cnt);
            
      else 
         return alg( (3*n)+1, ++cnt);
   
   }

    int main()	{
   
      printf(" %d ", alg(10, 1) );
      return 0;
   
   }

Thank you very much. Now if I could only find that visual debugger!