Questions tagged [recursion]
For questions relating to recursion, or functions that call themselves.
11 questions
9 votes
2 answers
489 views
Can total (primitive) corecursion be implemented?
I'm trying to understand how to implement corecursion in a total functional context. I've already implemented recursion using standard techniques (for loops) but I ...
- 901
9 votes
7 answers
2k views
Is there a generic way to refer to the current function in recursion?
In writing recursive functions (functional style), I often need to refer to the current function (depending on the context). e.g. f 0 = 0 f (S n) = f n + 2 Are ...
- 467
1 vote
2 answers
2k views
Does x86 assembly support linguistic recursion? [closed]
In my book "Jezici za gimnazijalce" (not available online) and in my Bachelor thesis (which will be online in about a month) I was claiming that assembly languages are like the Piraha ...
- 2,337
15 votes
1 answer
439 views
Extending Hindley Milner with (mutual) recursion
What's a good approach for extending Hindley Milner with mutual recursion without de-sugaring to let+fix+records? My thinking is (assuming no polymorphic recursion) Collect mutually recursive lets ...
- 251
7 votes
2 answers
2k views
Dynamic and Static scoping and recursion
So I learned the concept of lexical and dynamic scoping in programming languages. But I am not quite sure about the behaviour of these concepts in recursion(or even not recursion, but two different ...
- 73
19 votes
6 answers
4k views
What is the use of explicitly specifying if a function is recursive or not?
In some languages, such as F# and FORTRAN, a keyword is used to specify if a function is recursive or not. What is the use of this, other than telling whoever is using the code that the function is ...
- 695
3 votes
1 answer
517 views
X86-64 Assembly for Recursive Functions
A compiler I'm writing generates the following x86-64 assembly (AT&T syntax) for a recursive factorial function. I convert the assembly into an ELF executable using ...
8 votes
2 answers
503 views
How to optimize non-tail recursion?
Tail recursion, where a function calls itself as the last step, is straightforward to optimize as to prevent unbounded stack growth: tail call optimization applies. However, this doesn't apply to ...
- 9,672
17 votes
1 answer
1k views
How can we define a denotational semantics for recursive functions?
Motivation I want to define a denotational semantics (see here or here) for recursive functions in my language, by representing them as mathematical functions. Background Consider a simple language ...
- 2,532
12 votes
6 answers
3k views
Early binding, mutual recursion, closures. Can I have all three?
Take this Python snippet of two functions that are mutually recursive and form closures: ...
- 1,491
16 votes
3 answers
593 views
What are the trade-offs in supporting Tail Recursion Optimization, but not Tail Call Optimization?
Tail Call Optimization allows a function call as the returned value of a function to be optimized to a goto, preventing the stack from growing. Among other things, ...
- 4,870