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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
- Path: sparky!uunet!wizzy!andyr
- From: andyr@wizzy.com (Andy Rabagliati)
- Subject: Re: Recursion in occam
- Message-ID: <By1FGL.CKF@wizzy.com>
- Organization: W. Z. I.
- References: <142@autro1.UUCP> <rob.722177288@dutncp8> <1992Nov20.102603.2898@titan.inmos.co.uk>
- Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 23:19:32 GMT
- Lines: 26
-
- Occam was designed as a parallel programming language, with concurrency
- implemented inter- and intra-processor.
-
- For a transputer way out on a limb somewhere, running out of memory
- resource is fatal.
-
- In most C environments, with a disk nearby, this is not a fatal
- condition. Indeed, on a virtual memory machine, the application may not
- even notice unless it was watching the clock.
-
- If recursion can be guaranteed not to exceed a fixed memory resource,
- there seems to be no reason why it could not be added to the language.
-
- Guarantees up until now have not been forthcoming.
-
- A simple system like tail-recursion can be implemented in a loop. To
- put restrictions like "only use recursion when tail-recursing" or
- "ping-disk < 10msec" would be a sad day for the occam-as-a-language
- aficandos.
-
- Hmm .. let me see - you seem to have enough memory THIS time - still
- muddies the language waters but may be a compromise.
-
- Cheers, Andy.
- --
- andyr@wizzy.com Andy Rabagliati, RR1 Box 33, Wyalusing, PA 18853 (717)746-7780
-