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<h4 class="subsection">2.7.12 Iteration</h4>

<p><a name="index-recursion-314"></a><a name="index-g_t_0040code_007biterate_007d-315"></a>One of many alternatives to recursion provided by the virtual machine is
iteration, which allows an operation to be repeated until a condition is
met. If the source language is imperative, this feature provides an easy
means of translating loop statements to virtual code. In languages that allow
functions to be treated as data, iteration can be regarded as a function
that takes a predicate and a function as arguments, and returns a
function that applies the given function repeatedly to its argument
until the predicate is refuted.

   <p>Iterative applications are expressed in virtual code by the pattern shown below.

     <dl>
<dt><em>T21</em><dd>[[<code>iterate</code>]] <code>(</code><var>p</var><code>,</code><var>f</var><code>)</code> = <code>((nil,nil),(nil,(</code><var>p</var><code>,</code><var>f</var><code>)))</code>
</dl>

<p class="noindent">In the <code>silly</code> language, the <code>iterate</code> mnemonic plays the role
of the function that takes the virtual code for a predicate
<var>p</var> and a function <var>f</var> as arguments, and returns
the virtual code for an iterating function.

   <p>The code for an iterating function is recognized as such by the virtual
machine emulator only if the subtrees <var>f</var> and <var>p</var> are other
than <code>nil</code>. The resulting function tests the argument
<var>x</var> with <var>p</var> and returns <var>x</var> if the
predicate is false.

     <dl>
<dt><em>P22</em><dd>([[<code>iterate</code>]] <code>(</code><var>p</var><code>,</code><var>f</var><code>)</code>) <var>x</var> = <var>x</var> if <var>p</var> <var>x</var> = <code>nil</code>
</dl>

<p class="noindent">If the predicate turns out to be true, <var>f</var> is applied to
<var>x</var>, and then another iteration is performed.

     <dl>
<dt><em>P23</em><dd>([[<code>iterate</code>]] <code>(</code><var>p</var><code>,</code><var>f</var><code>)</code>) <var>x</var> =
([[<code>iterate</code>]] <code>(</code><var>p</var><code>,</code><var>f</var><code>)</code>) <var>f</var> <var>x</var> if <var>p</var> <var>x</var> is a non-<code>nil</code> tree
</dl>

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