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Simple Question (I hope...): Forward declarations vs. "letrec" style or ML "and" style constructs

Is there some important semantic distinction I'm missing - if we only consider _function_ and, thus, perhaps algebraic type _constructor_ definitions - or does this just end up being a simple matter of syntactic convenience or inconvenience (e.g., imagine mutually recursive object "methods" facilitated via different class "forward declaration" - just an example for which some typical Scheme "letrec" or "fix" styled syntax might be challenged).

Any and all sagacious wisdom greatly appreciated. Thanks!

- Scott