Return Styles: Pseud0ch, Terminal, Valhalla, NES, Geocities, Blue Moon.

Pages: 1-

Tail recursion considered harmful

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-11 8:33

It says so in R5RS1:

By relying entirely on procedure calls to express iteration, Scheme emphasized the fact that tail-recursive procedure calls are essentially goto's that pass arguments.


1http://schemers.org/Documents/Standards/R5RS/HTML/r5rs-Z-H-3.html#%_chap_Temp_3

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-11 8:36

I believe Elmer Dickstrap was just an expert troll.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-12 1:42

>Elmer Dickstrap

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-12 1:47

>>1
Read SICP.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-12 12:52

>>2
Did you mean:

``Edsger Dijkstra''?

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-13 5:36

All this shit about goto being harmful only applies to goto in the sense of an instruction in a higher level language that causes program control to jump to another point in the source. The real reason we don't like goto is because its a low-level programming construct, and these should be kept out of high-level programming, the same as we don't care how a machine allocates memory. Assembly uses goto all the time, in fact some way of referring to other instructions is neccessary for all computing machinery as we know it today to work.

This argument is just using the old and often misunderstood stigma on "goto" to make an argument about something entirely different.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-13 5:38

The style of Structured Programming introduces few disadvantage compared with Linear style of programming. One of the most hindrances in the creation of code is the requirement for everything to be recursively nestive. Although blocks with one entrance and one exit, as intended, are quite "linear" in that the execution flow follows from one block to next, this clearly not can happen in all but very simplest program. Just intention to provide all blocks with one exit and entrance goes against the essence of Computer, that is to say making decision and changing execution are one of the most value aspect of the computer Processor. Without this ability to make decision the Processor is just an automated calculation device. Of course in stated report the author had probably consider this, but his solution to make a block nest within a block. This decision proves the most worst aspect of the Structured Programming methodology. Nesting, known as also Recursion, is quite hard to interpret and understand thus, since it require a Stack mechanism. Today in all "structured" programming language it is standard to allow nesting of code, and even data. Data nesting acceptable, since the Processor do not execute data in straight line like it does code. But nesting code extremely confusing to understand than linear written code. To see why it this, consider the Processor, the main part of the Computer. It reads a stream of instruction from the memory, which is arranged, obviously, linearly. It execute them linearly. When it encounter change execution instruction, it moves its position linearly, i.e. backward or forward.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-14 0:22

>>7
WHAT

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-14 5:01

>>6
Correct, well done.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-14 5:09

>>8
He's saying that goto is considered harmful.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 4:50

What do you call a Greek sheep detection system?
Lamb-dar! (λ!)

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 4:56

So Hal Abelson, Gerry J. Sussman and his wife Julie Sussman are walking into a bar. Upon reaching the bar, they consider who should enter first.
Hal says, ``I'll enter first, since

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 5:06

So Hal Abelson, Gerry J. Sussman and his wife Julie Sussman are walking into a bar. Upon reaching the bar, they consider who should enter first.
Hal says, ``I'll enter first, since you just lost the game''

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 5:13

>>12
Shit, accidentally hit reply too soon. Did you guys want to hear the Punch Line of the joke? It is actually quite humourous.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 5:21

>>14
Yes, send us Your Punch Line Please.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 6:27

>>13
I lost... I'm at the office now.. but I'll scream about it full throat when I goto the kitchen...  promise

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 10:28

GIVE ME THE MOTHERFUCKING PUNCH LINE PLEASE

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 12:16

>>17
So Hal Abelson, Gerry J. Sussman and his wife Julie Sussman are walking into a bar. Upon reaching the bar, they consider who should enter first.
Hal says, ``I'll enter first, since my other car is a cdr.''

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 13:41

>>18
OH GOD I DIDN'T SEE IT COMING

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 17:11

>>16
I lost... I'm at the office now.. but I'll scream about it full throat when I ☞ the kitchen...  promise
fix'd

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 18:07

>>18 is not >>12,14
I am the only one who knows the Punch Line. Did you guys want to hear it?

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 18:10

>>21
No, mine was better, given that you just lost the game, again

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 18:12

>>22

[spoiler]This may surprise you, but I invented[/spoiler] the game

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 19:11

>>23
[spoil]BBCode doesn't work that way[/spoil] the game.

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 19:13

this may surprise you, but I invented the game

Name: Anonymous 2008-01-15 21:11

>>23-24
You forgot to close your [fail] tags.

Name: Anonymous 2009-03-18 3:31

Don't call me gay, but I need some mary jay!

Marijuana MUST be legalized.

Name: ​​​​​​​​​​ 2010-10-25 3:20

Name: Anonymous 2011-02-03 7:12

Don't change these.
Name: Email:
Entire Thread Thread List