An Analysis of Parameter Evaluation for Recursive Procedures

Abstract

A class of recursive program schemata (P sub R) is defined abstracting ALGOL-like procedures. Four generic types of parameter evaluation are considered. An abstract model of parameter evaluation is developed and the constituent components of parameter evaluation are isolated. The question of recognizing when two parameter evaluation mechanisms coincide is studied, i.e. when two mechanisms always compute the same result for the same schema. The general problem is not partially decidable for seperable evaluation mechanisms. For free recursive schemata employing the generic mechanisms, the coincidence question is decidable. A discussion of the utility of such analysis and some thoughts on future directions for research are included.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1973
Accession Number
AD0770631

Entities

People

  • Lawrence H Snyder

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Automata
  • Calculus
  • Computations
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Grammars
  • Identities
  • Language
  • Mathematics
  • New York
  • Numbers
  • Programming Languages
  • Recursive Functions
  • Side Effects
  • Simulations

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Computational Linguistics
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation