Tail call optimization
JavaScript does not (yet) support tail call optimization. To circumvent this limitation, and mitigate stack overflows, the Js_of_ocaml compiler optimize some common tail call patterns.
Self tail recursive
Self tail recursive function are compiled into a loop.
OCaml
let rec fact x acc =
if x = 0
then acc
else fact (pred x) (acc * x)
JavaScript
function fact(x,acc){
var x$0=x,acc$0=acc;
for(;;){
if(0===x$0) return acc$0;
var acc$1=caml_mul(acc$0,x$0),
x$1=x$0-1|0,
x$0=x$1,
acc$0=acc$1;
continue
}
}
Mutually tail recursive functions
Mutually tail recursive functions are compiled using a trampoline. Note that the generated code does not return to the trampoline at every recursive call to prevent too much slow down.
OCaml
let rec even n =
match n with
| 0 -> true
| x -> odd (x-1)
and odd n =
match n with
| 0 -> false
| x -> even (x-1);;
JavaScript
function even$0(counter,n){
if(0===n)return 1;
var _e_=n-1|0;
if(counter<50){
var counter$0=counter+1|0;
return odd$0(counter$0,_e_)
}
return caml_trampoline_return(odd$0,[0,_e_])
}
function odd$0(counter,n){
if(0===n)return 0;
var _d_=n-1|0;
if(counter<50){
var counter$0=counter+1|0;
return even$0(counter$0,_d_)
}
return caml_trampoline_return(even$0,[0,_d_])
}
function even(n){return caml_trampoline(even$0(0,n))}
function odd(n){return caml_trampoline(odd$0(0,n))}
Examples of pattern not optimized
Recursive function where the tail call is made inside an intermediate function.
let rec f x =
let g delta = f (x - delta) in
if x < 0 then 0
else if x mod 2 = 0
then g 2
else g 1;;
Tail call of a function given as argument
let bind x f =
match x with
| None -> None
| Some x -> f x
Note that in the future, more tail call optimizations could be perform with function specialization and better inlining.