footprint code coverage

The first time I looked at the Scala language I just thought “No way!” – years of Java made the syntax unsightly to me and not palatable on first sight. I just didn’t want that!

But functional programming was intriguing virgin soil. And the more I approached it, the more was I willing to give the Scala language a chance to prove itself.

A big plus in contrast to other languages on the Java Virtual Machine: Scala not only is functional but also has an object oriented approach! So, for the general Java developer like me there is – for a start – no need to rethink all long evolved concepts and patterns in software development. You just inherit and implement happily as you did before, just the language is another. But then come the moments: “This could be designed differently.” or: “That would perfectly fit a trait (aka implemented interface).”

You get used to the concise syntax of Scala with time, writing goes off hand naturally and the code is much more readable than Java in the end. You’re not dismissed commenting and testing your code with Scala, either. But with the infering type system the source code is much more clearly laid out (bad writing habit can do harm, though).

Enthusiasm can be contagious. I’m going to spread the word and am writing a book on that topic: “Praxis Scala” is the current working title, to be published next midyear at the Hanser Verlag. It will be in German, but who knows, maybe there’ll be a translation of it one day. I’ll focus on the Java developers willing to take a step further and advance in their programming skills. There are quite a few traps and pitfalls one stumbles over when coming from Java – not everyone has to learn it the hard way.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress here, stay tuned!

Scala simply brings back fun to programming!

— Jan.

Tags : Book, Java, Programming, Scala