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Are there any general heuristics, tips, tricks, or common design paradigms that can be employed to convert a recursive algorithm to an iterative one? I know it can be done, I'm wondering if there are practices worth keeping in mind when doing so.
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From this, we formulate the general rules of conversion: Use the negation of the base-case condition as the loop's condition. Use the recursive function's body (except the recursive call) as the body of the while-loop. After the loop, apply the base-case update of the accumulator and return its value.
Which data structure is best suited for converting recursive implementation to iterative implementation of an algorithm? Explanation: Since function calls are executed in Last In First Out order, stack is the data structure for converting recursive to iterative implementation.
Can you always turn a recursive function into an iterative one? Yes, absolutely, and the Church-Turing thesis proves it if memory serves. In lay terms, it states that what is computable by recursive functions is computable by an iterative model (such as the Turing machine) and vice versa.
Yes, you can code recursive functions as iterations.
You can often entirely preserve the original structure of a recursive algorithm, but avoid the stack, by employing tail calls and changing to continuation-passing, as suggested by this blog entry. (I should really cook up a better standalone example.)
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A common technique that I use where I'm on the process of replace a recursive algorithm by an iterative one is generally to use a stack, pushing the parameters that are being passed to the recursive function.
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