Is doing a factory reset via System Settings the same as a factory reset via recovery? Is doing a factory reset via System Settings the same as a factory reset via Recovery?

Via System Settings in Samsung Galaxy S4:
System settings &gt; Accounts  &gt; Backup and reset &gt; Personal data &gt; Factory data reset

Via Recovery:
Vol Up +  Home + Power > ...
I'm not sure about the exact procedure; Recovery seems to have disappeared from my phone.

Will these clear the same set of data, or are there slight differences?
I never heard there's a difference: factory-reset is factory-reset (which is why both methods are often mentioned alternatively to each other: if you still can power up your device manually, you can use the corresponding item in the Settings menu -- otherwise, you can go via the recovery-mode).

Usually, the menu item in Settings says something like "Reset to factory defaults", while the corresponding entry in recovery says "Wipe data and caches". 

Now, what is a factory-reset, in technical terms? Resetting all settings to the defaults of the currently installed ROM, while deleting all data and user-installed apps.

How is that done? By...


wiping /data (user-apps and data, plus Dalvik Cache) and
wiping /cache (app cache)


Now comes the circular reasoning: Isn't that what the corresponding entry in recovery says -- "wiping data and caches"?