🚀 go-pugleaf

this is also known as "tail recursion folding" (or conversion or some
such) and is practised routinely (ouch!) by LISP compilers on RISC
machines.  There are a number of challenges to exploiting the technique 
in C compilers (having to do with exception handling, setjmp/longjmp,
etc).  the other issue is "how big is the win?"  for languages like
Lisp and Prolog the frequency of the construct may well be rather
different than in C code, making the effort less interesting.

but as I said, as least in LISP compilers, tail recursion is indeed
handled on modern RISC machines - several language definitions
*require* tail-recursion folding, so they gotta do it.

further discussions should probably move to comp.compilers, however.

	-Mike

Bellcore?? Bellcore ain't allowed to have opinions - these be mine.