["python","recursion","limit","stack-overflow","sys"]
What is the maximum recursion depth, and how to increase it?

I have this tail recursive function here: def recursive_function(n, sum): if n < 1: return sum else: return recursive_function(n-1, sum+n) c = 998 print(recursive_function(c, 0)) It works up to n=997, then it just breaks and spits out a RecursionError: maximum recursion depth exceeded in comparison. Is this just a stack overflow? Is there a way to get around it?
It is a guard against a stack overflow, yes. Python (or rather, the CPython implementation) doesn't optimize tail recursion, and unbridled recursion causes stack overflows. You can check the recursion limit with sys.getrecursionlimit: import sys print(sys.getrecursionlimit()) and change the recursion limit with sys.setrecursionlimit: sys.setrecursionlimit(1500) but doing so is dangerous -- the standard limit is a little conservative, but Python stackframes can be quite big. Python isn't a functional language and tail recursion is not a particularly efficient technique. Rewriting the algorithm iteratively, if possible, is generally a better idea.