Collatz Conjecture

collatzconjecture.py

import random

num_steps = 0

def collatz(term):
    """Recursively compute the Collatz conjecture for a Natural number
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collatz_conjecture
    term:
        A natural number > 1
    """
	global num_steps
	num_steps = num_steps + 1
	print('{0}: {1}'.format(num_steps, term))
	if term == 1:
		return 1
	elif term % 2 == 0:
		return collatz(term / 2)
	else:
		return collatz((term * 3) + 1)

	
if __name__ == '__main__':
	collatz(random.randint(1, 987654321))