Re: [VM] Tail recursion and multiple values

[ludo@gnu.org (Ludovic Courtès)]

Hello,

Andy Wingo <wingo@pobox.com> writes:

> The compiler is almost to the point that it can replace the interpreter,
> semantically. What is needed is to read and compile toplevel definitions
> one at a time, so we can e.g. change the reader, or the other dynamic
> things that people expect. Then if that's the case, then we can just hit
> the user with the one-time cost, for the long-term benefit.
>
> This would also allow us to move closer to having a single codepath,
> which has its benefits, broader tail-recursion among them.

Yes, that's a significant benefit.  But I think we can only afford it
once the compiler is sufficiently fast.  IMO Guile targets short-lived
programs (aka. "scripts") more than, say, Ikarus, which is why
"compilation" (be it actual compilation or bare memoization) time
matters.

Thanks,
Ludo'.