explict vs inexplicit constant parameters

explict vs inexplicit constant parameters

[Julian Assange]

I often use the following:

let findpair e l =
  let rec find = function
    | [] -> None
    | (a,b)::tl -> if a = e then Some b else findpair tl 
  in
  find l

instead of:

let findpair e l =
  let rec find e = function
    | [] -> None
    | (a,b)::tl -> if a = e then Some b else findpair e tl 
  in
  find e l

Is ocaml able to generate faster code for the former?

Stylistically, I'm not sure whether these constructs are a good thing
or not. Symbolic brevity makes makes it easier to read for small
contexts.  On the other hand for larger contexts, the de-localisation
of variables makes the whole thing harder to follow and dangerous to
re-order.

Cheers,
Julian.

Re: explict vs inexplicit constant parameters

[Alain Frisch]

On 3 Aug 2000, Julian Assange wrote:

> ...
> Is ocaml able to generate faster code for the former?
> 

This is a FAQ:
http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml/speed.html
http://caml.inria.fr/FAQ/FAQ_EXPERT-eng.html#curry_et_rec

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-- 
 Alain Frisch