🚀 go-pugleaf

quigley@acs.ucalgary.ca (Martyn Thomas Quigley) writes:

>>Most problem solving that people routinely do shouldn't require the
>>level of engineering required to convert recursion into interation.

> Don't Lisp compilers routinely convert tail recursion source into
> iterative code?  I always thought so, but...should we do it
> ourselves?

I think a more relevant point is that beginning programmers don't
often know the difference between a tail recursive function and a
non-tail recursive function (i.e. whether it can be compiled into an
iterative form).  On the other hand, I think that learning (and
teaching) the difference is not that hard and is worth whatever effort
it does take.  This knowledge fosters a more thorough understanding of
interpreters, compilers, machines, etc.  Things that are very
important for a programmer to understand.





--
Brent Benson                     
Harris Computer Systems