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Factorial

View this sample's code on GitHub

Overview​

This example demonstrates a recursive mathematical function that calculates the product of all positive integers less than or equal to its input.

This is a Motoko example that does not currently have a Rust variant.

Prerequisites​

This example requires an installation of:

  • Install the IC SDK.
  • Clone the example dapp project: git clone https://github.com/dfinity/examples

Begin by opening a terminal window.

Step 1: Navigate into the folder containing the project's files and start a local instance of the replica with the command:​

cd examples/motoko/factorial
dfx start --background

Step 2: Deploy the canister:​

dfx deploy

Step 3: Calculate the factorial of 20:​

dfx canister call factorial fac '(20)'

The following output will be returned: 

(2_432_902_008_176_640_000 : nat)

Security considerations and best practices​

If you base your application on this example, we recommend you familiarize yourself with and adhere to the security best practices for developing on the Internet Computer. This example may not implement all the best practices.