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From: Robin Becker <robin@reportlab.com>
Subject: Re: A new module for performing tail-call elimination
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2015 09:57:54 +0100
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On 16/07/2015 17:17, Ian Kelly wrote:
> On Thu, Jul 16, 2015 at 3:28 AM, Robin Becker <robin@reportlab.com> wrote:
.............
>>
>> ....
>> I believe the classic answer is Ackermann's function
>>
>> http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/RecursionInTheAckermannFunction/
>>
>> which is said to be not "primitive recursive" ie cannot be unwound into
>> loops; not sure whether that implies it has to be recursively defined or can
>> perhaps be broken down some other way.
>
that should have said "simple loops"


> My recollection -- and it's been awhile since I've studied
> computability theory so I may be distorting things here -- is that
> primitive recursive functions can be computed using for loops, i.e.
> loops where the number of iterations is bounded in advance, whereas
> non-primitive recursive functions require while loops.
>
I'm guessing, but is the implication that for loops can be specified finitely in 
advance, but while loops need some processing in the calculation to determine 
termination? I'm an engineer :(
-- 
Robin Becker