Updated May 19, 2023
Overview of Scala
Scala is a multi-paradigm and modern programming language. It is a combination of functional programming and object-oriented programming. It combines them in one concise high-level language. It is easy and highly scalable; hence it is called Scala. This language requires a virtual machine, i.e., JVM, to run.
It was developed by Martin Odersky and launched in 2003. It is a programming language that is purely object-oriented and has functional programming language features like currying, lazy evaluation, immutability, and many more. Its main feature is its scalability which differentiates it from other programming languages. Scala was designed to address Java’s limitations and provide a more concise, type-safe, and elegant way of expressing common programming patterns.
Comparison Between Scala and Java
Following is a comparison:
| Scala | Java |
| It is a combination of object-oriented and functional programming languages. | It is an object-oriented programming language. |
| It has nested code; hence it is less readable. | It is more readable. |
| Compilation of source code into byte code is slow. | Compilation of source code into byte code is fast. |
| Operator overloading is supported. | Operator overloading is not supported. |
| It allows for lazy evaluation. | It does not allow lazy evaluation. |
| Code written in new versions cannot run in older versions, i.e., it is not backward compatible. | Code written in new versions can run in older versions also; hence it is backward compatible. |
| Methods and functions are treated as variables. | It treats functions as objects. |
| The code written in Scala is in a compact form. | The code written in Java is in long-form. |
| By default, variables are immutable. | By default, variables are mutable. |
| Everything is treated as an instance of a class; hence it is a more object-oriented programming language. | It is a less object-oriented programming language. |
| The static keyword is not present. | The static keyword is present. |
| Methods calls are used to perform any operation on entities. | The method call is not used in Java. |
| The syntax is simple. | The syntax is complex. |
| It is statically typed. | It is dynamic in nature. |
| Lesser defects. | No assurance of bug-free codes. |
What is the Use of Scala?
- To write web applications.
- Used in applications working with streaming data.
- Used in distributed and concurrent applications.
- Allows parallel batch processing.
- It analyzes data using Apache Spark.
- Can perform any programming task.
- It can be used in amalgamation with Java.
- Used for scripting in REPL.
Advantages
- The code is more concise.
- It is more readable.
- Assurance of error-free code.
- It is easier to write and compile code.
- It has functional programming language features, helping solve the problem using different approaches.
- It helps in parallelizing the task using concurrency.
- Libraries can be used more effectively and efficiently.
- Easy to pick up.
- High scalability.
- Highly functional.
- Efficient for data analytics.
- It has inherent, immutable objects.
- It has good IDE support.
- Better performance.
- Expressive language.
Disadvantages
- Hard to learn.
- Lack of ease of adoption.
- Limited community presence.
- Limited backward compatibility.
Why should we Use Scala?
- It is highly flexible in defining abstractions.
- Scala IDE (Integrated development environment) can connect to the Eclipse Java tool.
- This would help us to explore the feature of Eclipse using Scala.
- It can easily interoperate with the .NET framework and JRE (Java Runtime Environment).
- The code in Scala is easier to test.
- Developers can reuse the code written in Scala.
- Parallelization is more straightforward.
- There are lesser defects or bugs in the Scala program.
- Programmers follow the top-down approach, dividing programs into smaller chunks and processing them in parallel.
- It increases speed.
- It improves and provides higher efficiency.
- It increases the readability and conciseness of the code.
Scope
It was discovered in 2003, and since then, it is growing tremendously, and its demand is also increasing daily. Major tech players are implementing it in their architecture. It delivers high productivity and performance, so its popularity and use are growing rapidly. As it requires functional and object-oriented programming expertise, Scala developers or engineers would have great career growth in the future. It is a very suitable language for data scientists, analytics professionals, and data engineers.
Why do we Need Scala?
- It is a multi-paradigm language, making learning and executing functional and object-oriented paradigms easier.
- It supports currying and anonymous functions, which helps to write concise and elegant code or programs.
- It is interoperable with Java. This helps developers or programmers to use Java libraries directly using Scala code.
- Some parts of the code can be written in Java, and others in Scala.
- Many programming practices and patterns are inbuilt in the Scala programming language.
- It has case classes that help to create immutable classes easily.
- It also supports closures, a valuable and essential feature of the functional programming paradigm.
- It is more expressive. It can express code in one line, for which Java takes almost 10 lines.
- It would make its developers more marketable.
- It provides type inference for functions and variable big
- Scala has many great frameworks, like Akka, Lift, and Play.
- It is suited to be used in big data, increasing its popularity among Java developers.
How will this Technology help you in Career Growth?
Many top companies like LinkedIn, Twitter, Netflix, Apple, and others use it to implement their platforms. Due to the increase in demand for Scala, big companies are looking for professionals working in Scala; hence many job opportunities are available in the market.
Conclusion
It is developing daily, and its demand is increasing; hence, many career opportunities are available in the IT industry. Due to the shortage or lack of efficient developers, there is enormous scope for you in the future. So it is a great technology to study and to build your career.
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