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Multi-paradigm Scala language seeks to out-Java Java


By Alex Handy
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April 20, 2009 —  (Page 1 of 2)
It is fashionable, in the modern era, to run other languages on top of a Java virtual machine. But while JRuby and Jython push popular dynamic languages into the JVM, Scala takes another approach. Since the pattern-centric programming language first appeared in 2003, Scala has expanded to take advantage of the existing Java infrastructure that is in most enterprises. The Scala IDE plug-in for Eclipse was updated to version 2.7.4, a release candidate that brings the language even closer to the underlying Java ecosystem.

The Scala project describes Scala as “a general-purpose programming language designed to express common programming patterns in a concise, elegant and type-safe way. It smoothly integrates features of object-oriented and functional languages, enabling Java and other programmers to be more productive. Code sizes are typically reduced by a factor of two to three when compared to an equivalent Java application.”

Miles Sabin, managing director of Chuusai Ltd. (a UK-based consultancy specializing in Eclipse and Scala) and technical lead on the Scala IDE for Eclipse, said that French investment firm EDF ponied up the money to help bring the Scala IDE into the modern era.

“I became involved in the development of the Scala IDE for Eclipse about a year ago,” said Sabin. “At more or less the same time, I kicked off a UK-based Scala consultancy. A London-based group (EDF's energy group) was interested in using Scala internally. They'd used the Scala IDE for Eclipse, but at the time it wasn't stable enough, so they were looking for groups to sponsor work on the Scala IDE for Eclipse.”

Today, said Sabin, that IDE is now coming closer to its goal of completely seamless integration with the Java landscape.

“Many people are coming to Scala looking for a better Java. The main thing they need to see is absolutely seamless interoperability between Java code and Scala code,” he said.

“That's not just at runtime, it also means the entire toolchain. The vast majority of people choosing Scala are doing so because they're bumping up against the constraints of Java, but they have a huge amount invested in Java infrastructure. That is the main highlight feature of the Scala IDE for Eclipse.”


Related Search Term(s): Java, Scala

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