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What is Scala?

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. In Scala, common programming patterns are expressed in a more concise, type-safe and elegant manner. It was designed to overcome the limitations of Java.

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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 backwards compatible. Code written in new versions can run in older versions also hence it is backwards 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.
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

  • Code is more concise.
  • It is more readable.
  • Assurance of error-free code.
  • It is easier to write and compile code in Scala.
  • It has features of functional programming language hence helps to solve the problem using different approaches.
  • It helps in parallelizing of the task using concurrency.
  • Libraries can be used more effectively and easily.
  • 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 be used to 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.
  • Code written in this can be reused.
  • Parallelization is easier in Scala.
  • There are lesser defects or bugs in the Scala program.
  • The top-down approach is followed in Scala programming, i.e. programs are broken into smaller chunks, and then each chunk is processed 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 day by day. Major tech players are implementing it in their architecture. It is delivering high productivity and performance, so its popularity and use are increasing rapidly. As it requires expertise in both functional and object-oriented programming, the Scala developers or engineers would have great career growth in the upcoming 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 it easier to learn and execute both functional and object-oriented paradigms.
  • It supports currying and anonymous functions, which helps to write concise and elegant code or programs.
  • It is interoperable with Java. This helps the Scala developers or programmers to use Java libraries directly using Scala code.
  • Some part of the code can be written in Java and other 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 useful and important 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
  • There are many great frameworks of Scala like Akka, Lift and Play.
  • It is suited to be used in the big data space; hence, its popularity increases among Java developers.

How will this Technology help you in Career Growth?

It is being used in many top companies like LinkedIn, Twitter, Netflix, Apple and many more to implement their platforms. Due to the increase in demand for Scala, the 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 also increasing; hence, many career opportunities are available in the IT industry. Due to the shortage or lack of efficient Scala developers, there is huge scope for you in the future. So it is a great technology to study and to build your career.

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