tail recursion optimisation

1 definition found

tail recursion optimisation - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  tail recursion optimisation
  TRO
  
     <programming> (TRO) Discarding the calling environment (call stack
      frame) when the last thing a function or procedure
     does is to call itself.  This is important when a procedure
     calls itself recursively many times since, without tail
     recursion optimisation, the environments of earlier
     invocations would fill up the memory only to be discarded when
     (if) the last call terminated.
  
     Tail recursion optimisation is a special case of last call optimisation
      but it allows the further optimisation that some
     arguments may be passed in situ, possibly in registers.  It
     allows recursive functions to be compiled into iterative
     loops.
  
     See also conversion to iteration, tail recursion modulo cons
     .
  
     (2006-04-16)