unexpected output in C (recursion)

Question

int main(void) {
 static int=5;
 if(--i) {
    main();
    printf("%d",i);
   }
 }

the output of above program is---

0000

But I think it should be---

1234

I dont know why?please help me.

Answer 1

The reason for the zeros is that i is decremented down to zero before the very first printf statement is run. As it unwinds, it prints i (which is still zero) each time.

It would be better to use a separate function that main() calls and passes a parameter to (and then pass the parameter to each call rather than using a static variable).

Answer 2

1. You set a static variable i to 5
2. You recurse on main until i becomes zero.
3. The recursion unwinds with i being zero.
4. This then calls the printf

There lies the answer.

You can prove this by using a debugger