[LLVMdev] Query on optimization and tail call.

[Basile STARYNKEVITCH]

Eli Friedman wrote:
> On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 11:07 PM, Mahadevan R <mdevan.foobar at gmail.com> wrote:
>> int sum(int n)
>> {
>>    return n + sum(n-1);
>> }


Sorry, but this is not a tail recursive call. There is some computation 
involved (the addition) after the inner call to sum! The continuation of 
the inner call to sum is not the continuation of the called sum.

In other words, the equivalent in languages or implementations claiming 
to know about tail recursion (Scheme, Ocaml) is not compiled like tail 
cails.

So I believe that llvm should not handle something which is not a tail 
call like a tail call!


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