[GreaterFool]

I use functional style in C++ with lambdas and iterators. It is nothing but slow. I use functional style in Rust. It's blazing fast. Huge body of problems can be handled by simple recursion but I've yet to see non-functional programmers use it. I don't know why.

Functional style is simply better and is applicable in many languages. Modern C++ is a great example. Throw away much of OOP clunkiness, use simple functions, win! (OOP has it's place but in small quantities and with moderation).

With respect to purity I'm on the sidelines. I think what's far more important is algebraic data-types, pattern matching and value-returning conditionals (values, not statements!). Rust has them and it is great and not pure.

[theseoafs]

> Huge body of problems can be handled by simple recursion but I've yet to see non-functional programmers use it. I don't know why.

Stack overflows.

[Mathnerd314]

"Functional" languages typically have tail-call optimization and heap-allocated frames. Maybe OOP is a workaround for these missing features...

[braythwayt]

Why doesn't your language have TCO?

"Nobody uses recursion."

Why doesn't anybody use recursion?

"No TCO."

[pmarreck]

Tail-call optimization eliminates those. Assuming your language provides it, and assuming you trigger it correctly. ;)

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/32164370/does-elixir-infi...

[rusabd]

TCO eliminates some types of recursion. Not all of them.

[tome]

Eliminates some types of stack usage, not "recursion".