Yes. FORTRAN had sequential execution, testing, and branching, as do all languages. To write a recursive program the programmer had to create and manage a run time stack, just as in assembly language. Modern high level languages do this automatically.
fact()
Here
is the complete code for fact():
# int fact( int n )
# {
# if ( n<=1)
# return 1;
# else
# return n*fact(n-1);
# }
.text
.globl fact
fact:
# prolog
sub $sp,$sp,4 # 1. Push return address
sw $ra,($sp)
sub $sp,$sp,4 # 2. Push caller's frame pointer
sw $fp,($sp)
sub $sp,$sp,4 # 3. Push register $s1
sw $s1,($sp)
sub $fp,$sp,0 # 4. $fp = $sp - space_for_variables (==0)
move $sp,$fp # 5. $sp = $fp
# body of subroutine
move $s1,$a0 # save argument in $s1
li $t1,1 # get a 1
bgt $s1,$t1,recurse # if ( n<=1)
li $v0,1 # return 1
b epilog
recurse: # else
# return n*fact(n-1)
sub $a0,$s1,1 # n-1
# subroutine call
# 1. No T registers to push
# 2. Argument is in $a0
jal fact # 3. Jump and link to subroutine
mul $v0,$v0,$s1 # n*fact(n-1)
epilog: # epilog
# 1. Return value is already in $v0
add $sp,$fp,0 # 2. $sp = $fp + space_for_variables (==0)
lw $s1,($sp) # 3. Pop register $s1
add $sp,$sp,4 #
lw $fp,($sp) # 4. Pop $fp
add $sp,$sp,4 #
lw $ra,($sp) # 5. Pop $ra
add $sp,$sp,4 #
jr $ra # 6. return to caller
Is a different subroutine linkage convention followed for recursive subroutines than for non-recursive subroutines?