structural recursion
The process of transforming an expression by expressing its
structure as a syntax tree and applying a certain
transformation rule to each kind of node, starting from the
top. Rules for non-{leaf nodes} will normally return a result
which depends on applying the rules recursively to its
sub-nodes. Examples include {syntax} analysis, {code
generation}, {abstract interpretation} and {program
transformation}.
(1995-01-11)