Actually, I think your example generates an iterative process, not a recursive process. In other words, according to what I read in SICP recently (working throu

Actually, I think your example generates an iterative process, not a recursive process. In other words, according to what I read in SICP recently (working through it the first time), I think your example is a recursive function that generates an iterative process. It's an iterative process because incoming function arguments capture a snapshot of its state at any point, and therefore you don't need state that exists deeper on the call stack. The upshot is that iterative processes are more efficient in terms of how much stack space they use. Not trying to nitpick -- I enjoyed your post and it is still relevant. Also, I could be wrong, so someone please correct me if so.