Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bloom-beacon!spdcc!ima!esegue!compilers-sender
From: worley@compass.com (Dale R. Worley)
Newsgroups: comp.compilers
Subject: Graph reduction, recursion, and the Y combinator
Message-ID: <1989Sep26.041357.26728@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us>
Date: 26 Sep 89 04:13:57 GMT
Sender: compilers-sender@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us
Reply-To: worley@compass.com (Dale R. Worley)
Organization: Compilers Central
Lines: 16
Approved: compilers@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us

In most discussions of graph reduction execution of the combinator
representation of the lambda calculus, recursive functions are
represented by introducing a circularity in the tree that represents
the function defintion.  In theoretically pure lambda calculus,
recursion is expressed using the Y combinator, or some such, which can
be represented in terms of the simpler combinators.  Has anyone
actually done this in graph reduction execution?  Has anyone analyzed
the optimization which removes the Y and replaces it with the circular
edge?  Is this a special case of a more general optimization?

Dale
worley@compass.com
-- 
Send compilers articles to compilers@esegue.segue.boston.ma.us
{spdcc | ima | lotus}!esegue.  Meta-mail to compilers-request@esegue.
Please send responses to the author of the message, not the poster.