Optimizing Ackermann's function by incrementalization

This paper describes a formal derivation of an optimized Ackermann's function following a general and systematic method based on incrementalization. The method identifies an appropriate input increment operation and computes the function by repeatedly performing an incremental computation at the step of the increment. This eliminates repeated subcomputations in executions that follow the straightforward recursive definition of Ackermann's function, yielding an optimized program that is drastically faster and takes extremely little space. This case study uniquely shows the power and limitation of the incrementalization method, as well as both the iterative and recursive nature of computation underlying the optimized Ackermann's function.