It's well known all recursive functions can be written using just a single loop and a stack. Although this conversion can be criticized to be ugly or less readable, its main use is obviously to avoid smashing the heap.
There are natural ways to convert simple recursive functions into loops. For instance, take the simple tail-recursion elimination using an accumulator. So far, I have not seen yet a definitive answer for this question.
At least to me, sometimes it seems black magic to convert such recursive functions into loops provided a stack. For instance, think of writing a non-recursive version for
f(n) = n, if n <= 1
f(n) = f(n-1) + f(n-2) + 1, if n > 1
The very point underlying this question is:
- Is there a lucid, general method to convert a recursive function into a loop + stack?