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Why use Scala in 2023?

Philipp Haller
March 19, 2023
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Why use Scala in 2023?

Philipp Haller

March 19, 2023
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  1. Philipp Haller
    Scala
    • A statically-typed programming language that integrates object-oriented and
    functional programming (https://www.scala-lang.org/)


    • Concise


    – Modern, compact syntax


    – Powerful type inference


    • Fully interoperable with Java and JavaScript (Scala.js)


    – Also: beta version of native code compiler (Scala Native)


    • About as fast as Java


    • Pushes the boundaries of what is possible to express in a type-safe way given
    the above properties of the language
    1

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  2. Philipp Haller
    Motivation for Using Scala
    • Scala is an excellent choice for implementing interpreters and type checkers


    – This is the main task in the labs


    – Language features of particular interest: case classes and pattern matching,
    tuples, higher-order functions, etc.


    • Scala has received the highest international award for its significant impact on both
    industrial software development and programming language research

    (ACM SIGPLAN Programming Languages Software Award)


    • In addition, learning a new language…


    – is beneficial when studying the principles of programming languages


    – can make you a better programmer, regardless of the languages you are going
    to use for future tasks
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  3. Philipp Haller
    Latest RedMonk Ranking
    3
    Scala ranked
    higher than Kotlin and
    Rust
    Source: Stephen O’Grady, The RedMonk Programming Language Rankings: June 2022

    https://redmonk.com/sogrady/2022/10/20/language-rankings-6-22/
    Latest RedMonk Ranking (June 2022)

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  4. Philipp Haller
    Growing Adoption of Scala
    4
    IEEE Spectrum ranking “Top Programming Languages 2022” (“Jobs” preset)


    https://spectrum.ieee.org/top-programming-languages-2022

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  5. Philipp Haller
    Scala Center and Commercial Users
    • Non-profit center at EPFL, Switzerland, (https://scala.epfl.ch/) dedicated to the
    continued development and maintenance of Scala


    – Open-source software development


    – Education via Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)


    • Advisory board members:


    – 47 Degrees, Databricks, Goldman Sachs, Lightbend, Lunatech,
    VirtusLab, Spotify, Twitter


    • Other prominent Scala users:


    – Airbnb, Apple, Klarna, Lego, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Netflix, PayPal,
    Shopify, Starbucks, Tesla, Verizon, Walmart, Walt Disney, Zalando
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