From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) id QAA12590; Wed, 7 May 2003 16:04:48 +0200 (MET DST) X-Authentication-Warning: pauillac.inria.fr: majordomo set sender to owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr using -f Received: from concorde.inria.fr (concorde.inria.fr [192.93.2.39]) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) with ESMTP id QAA13016 for ; Wed, 7 May 2003 16:04:46 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from mailman.research.att.com (H-135-207-24-32.research.att.com [135.207.24.32]) by concorde.inria.fr (8.11.1/8.11.1) with ESMTP id h47E4jH08645 for ; Wed, 7 May 2003 16:04:45 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from sprache.sage.att.com (sprache.sage.att.com [135.207.29.235]) by mailman.research.att.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id h47E1jZs026006 for ; Wed, 7 May 2003 10:01:45 -0400 Received: from kestrel.sage.att.com (kestrel.sage.att.com [135.207.29.159]) by sprache.sage.att.com (SGI-8.9.3p2/8.8.7) with ESMTP id KAA96434 for ; Wed, 7 May 2003 10:04:19 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 10:04:19 -0400 (EDT) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: [Caml-list] why the "rec" in "let rec"? To: "caml-list@inria.fr" From: Garry Hodgson User-Agent: Gumbi 1.0 Message-ID: <2003050710041052316284@kestrel.sage.att.com> X-Spam: no; 0.00; hodgson:01 recursion:01 ml's:01 compiler:01 rec:01 government:98 recursive:03 let:04 grammar:05 definition:06 forcing:06 optimization:06 specify:06 type:07 curious:08 Sender: owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr Precedence: bulk something i was always curious about: why do you need to specify the "rec" in a "let rec" function definition? as opposed to, say, having the compiler figure out when a function is recursive? is it a compiler/grammar optimization? or to help the user, forcing them to be precise with recursion? or required by the type system? do other ML's do it this way? just curious. ---- Garry Hodgson, Senior Hacker, AT&T Labs No act is more patriotic than speaking out when your government is doing the wrong thing in your name. This is not your right but your sacred duty. And none are more treasonous than those who would silence these voices. ------------------- To unsubscribe, mail caml-list-request@inria.fr Archives: http://caml.inria.fr Bug reports: http://caml.inria.fr/bin/caml-bugs FAQ: http://caml.inria.fr/FAQ/ Beginner's list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocaml_beginners