Scala is a general purpose programming language principally targeting the Java Virtual Machine. Designed to express common programming patterns in a concise, elegant, and type-safe way, it fuses both imperative and functional programming styles.

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Is that a good idea learning Scala? [closed]

maybe this question has already been asked but I was not able to find an updated answer. The point is: I really like the main features of Scala programming language, do you think that in the 2013 ...
3
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2answers
150 views

How are Scala Traits implemented in the JVM?

I have been reading about traits in Scala. They are pretty amazing. I am curious how they extend a class without actually resulting in multiple inheritance. I know that the JVM doesn't support ...
32
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8answers
2k views

Is memory management in programming becoming an irrelevant concern?

Background I revisited an old (but great) site I had not been to for ages - the Alioth Language Shootout (http://benchmarksgame.alioth.debian.org/). I started out programming in C/C++ several years ...
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1answer
136 views

Using akka actors with service spring beans

Do you think that using akka actors in front of transactional service beans, is a good idea ? Actors are waked up by a facade used by a client application, and actor use a message to handle right ...
2
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1answer
120 views

Can Objective C categories serve the same purpose as Traits do in Scala?

The statement of the question seems little abstract to me, so please read the details below :) Since the time when C++ was the first choice Object Oriented Language for almost anything,We had a big ...
0
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1answer
95 views

Method overload in scala

I know method overload is not allowed in Scala and I have read some posts regarding the reasons. But still, I see some functions overloaded in Scala library (example: println). I want to know how it ...
24
votes
3answers
494 views

Applying Denotational Semantics to design of Programs

I've read a bit on denotational semantics (DS) and I'm very intrigued about the process of designing computer programs where types and functions have strong and clear mappings to mathematics. Are ...
11
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2answers
550 views

How will the new development of Java influence its interoperability with languages like Scala and Clojure?

As far as I understand, both Scala and Clojure have been designed as new languages that depend on the JVM, and easily integrate with Java code, in the sense that they allow to use Java classes ...
20
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6answers
1k views

Functional programming compared to OOP with classes

I have been interested in some of the concepts of functional programming lately. I have used OOP for some time now. I can see how I would build a fairly complex app in OOP. Each object would know how ...
5
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1answer
520 views

What's the problem with Scala's XML literals?

In this post, Martin (the language's head honcho) writes: [XML literals] Seemed a great idea at the time, now it sticks out like a sore thumb. I believe with the new string interpolation ...
5
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3answers
902 views

Fastest Functional Language

I've recently been delving into functional programming especially Haskell and F#, the prior more so. After some googling around I could not find a benchmark comparison of the more prominent functional ...
10
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3answers
439 views

What are the advantages of Scala's companion objects vs static methods?

Scala has no static-keyword, but instead has similar functionality through companion objects. Behind the scenes the companion objects are compiled to classes that have static methods, so all this is ...
4
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2answers
204 views

Decision for Unchecked Exceptions in Scala

As a java programmer, I have always been critical of Unchecked Exceptions. Mostly programmers use it as an en-route to coding easiness only to create trouble later. Also the programs (though untidy) ...
0
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1answer
102 views

The idea of functionN in Scala / Functionaljava

From brain driven development It turns out, that every Function you’ll ever define in Scala, will become an instance of an Implementation which will feature a certain Function Trait. ...
10
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2answers
425 views

Scala as a language for Generic Programming

In the paper “An Extended Comparative Study of Language Support for Generic Programming” by Garcia et al. an interesting comparison of programming languages features for generic programming is given: ...
3
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2answers
170 views

null values vs “empty” singleton for optional fields

First of all I'm developing a parser for an XML-based format for 3D graphics called XGL. But this question can be applied to any situation when you have fields in your class that are optional i.e. the ...
5
votes
1answer
202 views

Why do generics in Scala have erased types, and are not reifiable?

Why do generics in Scala have erased types, and are not reifiable? Is it due to lack of support from the JVM or for compatibility with Java libraries? What are the advantages in general of having ...
4
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5answers
422 views

What is a good use case for scala? [closed]

In a current project we have setup the build so that we could mix Java and Scala. I would like to use more Scala in our code base to make the code more readable and concise. In the process also learn ...
1
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1answer
361 views

Play 2 with Scala or Java? [closed]

I want to develop a big personal project using Play 2 Framework. I am expert with Java language but it seems, with the few articles I read that Play 2 works perfectly and especially with Scala. I've ...
6
votes
3answers
236 views

Functional Methods on Collections

I'm learning Scala and am a little bewildered by all the methods (higher-order functions) available on the collections. Which ones produce more results than the original collection, which ones ...
4
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1answer
252 views

Can Scala be considered a functional superset of Java?

Apart from the differences in syntax, can Scala be considered a superset of Java that adds the functional paradigm to the object-oriented paradigm? Or are there any major features in Java for which ...
3
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1answer
207 views

Constraints while designing the Java generics

Java generics look quite different from those available in Scala, although both were designed by Martin Odersky. From my point of view, the design of generics in Java is worse, for instance: there ...
6
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1answer
321 views

Why does Scala require functions to have explicit return type?

I recently began learning to program in Scala, and it's been fun so far. I really like the ability to declare functions within another function which just seems to intuitive thing to do. One pet ...
3
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1answer
132 views

How to read Scala code with lots of implicits?

Consider the following code fragment (adapted from http://stackoverflow.com/a/12265946/1333025): // Using scalaz 6 import scalaz._, Scalaz._ object Example extends App { case class Container(i: ...
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9answers
984 views

OS choice for functional developing

I'm mainly a .NET developer so I normaly use Windows/VisualStudio (that means: I'm spoiled) but I'm enjoying Haskell and other (mostly functional) languagues in my spare time. Now for Haskell the ...
2
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2answers
211 views

Case Class naming convention

In my recent adventures in Scala, I've found case classes to be a really nice alternative to enums when I need to include a bit of logic or several values with them. I often find myself writing ...
15
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5answers
906 views

How do you encode Algebraic Data Types in a C#- or Java-like language?

There are some problems which are easily solved by Algebraic Data Types, for example a List type can be very succinctly expressed as: data ConsList a = Empty | ConsCell a (ConsList a) consmap f ...
18
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4answers
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What limitations does the JVM impose on tail-call optimization

Clojure does not perform tail call optimization on its own: when you have a tail recursive function and you want to have it optimized, you have to use the special form recur. Similarly, if you have ...
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2answers
577 views

Performance of concurrent software on multicore processors [closed]

Recently I have often read that, since the trend is to build processors with multiple cores, it will be increasingly important to have programming languages that support concurrent and parallel ...
6
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1answer
1k views

Play or Lift: which one is more explicit?

I am going to investigate web development with Scala, and the choice is between learning Lift or Play: probably I will not have enough time to try both, at least at first. Now, many comparisons ...
6
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4answers
506 views

scalablity of Scala over Java

I read an article that says Scala handles concurrency better than Java. http://www.theserverside.com/feature/Solving-the-Scalability-Paradox-with-Scala-Clojure-and-Groovy ...the scalability ...
12
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3answers
300 views

Historical origins of Scala implicits

Scala has been called complex with its rich feature set by many of my colleagues and some even blamed all those new features of it. While most programmers are aware of the OO-features, and at least ...
10
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3answers
946 views

Scala or Clojure Functional Programming best practices

I did a lot of self-study coding, got some experience with Parallel Programming Models: Actors, Software Transactional Memory, Data Flow. When I am trying to apply these architectures to real life - ...
1
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1answer
554 views

A sample build.sbt to allow me easily specify source dirs and libraries?

I recently started learning Android development and I decided to follow the following development processes: Preinstall Scala in emulator Edit source files in IntelliJ IDEA 11 Compile the project ...
5
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6answers
318 views

Do non-pure interpreters still make the guarantees of functional programming?

I am assuming the implementations/compilers/generated C code (referred to hereinafter as generic, 'interpreter') for most functional programming languages are written in non-pure functional languages. ...
5
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4answers
1k views

Actor library / framework for C++

In the C++ project I am working on, we have an application consisting of several processes deployed on different machines. This network of processes is dynamic since processes (clients or background ...
6
votes
3answers
323 views

Design in “mixed” languages: object oriented design or functional programming?

In the past few years, the languages I like to use are becoming more and more "functional". I now use languages that are a sort of "hybrid": C#, F#, Scala. I like to design my application using ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views

Migrating from Python to Scala wise when a lot of work is already done in Python?

Me and my friend are developing a web-app in Python + Flask + PostgreSQL. We have been working on it for the past few months and have developed a lot of schema/use-cases specific to Python + Flask + ...
1
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1answer
215 views

What are the benefits of using both Scalate and Jade?

I recently did a little "tool roundup": If I were to program a website in Scala and Coffeescript, what frameworks would I go for? I came across this great presentation: ...
2
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2answers
373 views

What's the best practice for async APIs that return futures on Scala?

I have started a project to write an async PostgreSQL driver on Scala and to be async, I need to accept callbacks and use futures, but then accepting a callback and a future makes the code cumbersome ...
6
votes
6answers
317 views

Built in Scala library slow?

I found this question and accepted answer on StackOverflow. It's related to the slow JSON parser in the standard Scala library. The consensus as it were, is that the build-in JSON library is slow, ...
30
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5answers
2k views

Re-inventing system design for Scala

Many, many, moons ago, I did my masters in Object Orientated Software Engineering. I covered everything: project initiation, requirements, analysis, design, architecture, development, etc, etc. My ...
9
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2answers
702 views

What is the ideal learning path to building Android apps with Scala, without prior Java experience

Unfortunately, there are not currently any books on the subject of 'Learn Android Development with Scala', which would be the ideal solution. I'm guessing that I'll need to pick up at least 3 books ...
21
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5answers
6k views

Performance of Scala compared to Java

First of all I would like to make it clear that this is not a language-X-versus-language-Y question to determine which is better. I have been using Java for a long time and I intend to keep using it. ...
7
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3answers
2k views

Functional Programming approach for a simplified game using Scala and LWJGL

I, a Java imperative programmer, would like to understand how to generate a simple version of Space Invaders based on Functional Programming design principles (in particular Referential Transparency). ...
4
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1answer
622 views

How is Scala scalable? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Why is Scala more scalable than other languages? The Wikipedia page on Scala says: The name Scala is a portmanteau of "scalable" and "language", signifying that it ...
5
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1answer
344 views

Resources relating to Java EE and Scala

Are there any good sites / blogs / books / articles on using Java EE together with Scala? Or indeed articles saying that it should not be done. Many Scala resources talk about using Akka and Lift. ...
3
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2answers
211 views

Cross “Machine” Code?

Some languages (mostly ones made in the last 2 decades or so) can now not only run (after some compilation step or directly) on several platforms, but also can be compiled to run on several virtual ...
2
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5answers
470 views

Programming language with native concurrency support for large graphs?

I'm currently looking for a new programming language to learn (currently working through some C++, know some C and Python), specifically one that has built-in concurrency support? I want to try to ...
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4answers
437 views

Online Courses/Certifications questions

I have some free time now - waiting to apply to college next year for a Master's degree - and I've been looking at online courses / certification programs like W3CSchools and O'Reilly and there are a ...

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