Comments on Programming Scala

Comment on 'Build Tools'

2009-08-07T02:41:57-07:00

Build Tools

The Scala-oriented sbt (simple-build-tool), available at http://code.google.com/p/simple-build-tool/, has some similarities to Buildr. It is also compatible with maven, but it uses Scala as the language for writing build scripts. It also has built-in support for generating Scaladocs and for testing with ScalaTest, Specs, and ScalaCheck.

A good build tool really helps get into using a language. I have no affiliation with any of the tools out there, but I used to use ant, maven and eclipse and have found sbt to be a remarkably simple yet powerful tool for building. It has really helped speed me into the language. I think it merits a bit more comment here, perhaps the odd example of a few useful commands like:

~ test

which auto builds and tests every time you save a change to a source file on the file system, or:

console

which compiles the code then jumps into the scala console to allow you to exercise the codebase by hand.
— stuartroebuck (2009-08-07 02:41:57)

Comment on 'Java Library Interoperability'

2009-07-12T22:17:27-07:00

Java Library Interoperability

However, if you inject dependencies into Scala objects, you must use setter injection, as you have no way to define constructor parameters and you have no control over the construction process.

Discussed briefly in the Application Design chapter section on Annotations. Thanks.
— deanwampler (2009-07-12 22:17:27)

Comment on 'Java Interoperability'

2009-05-29T12:00:42-07:00

Java Interoperability

Because Scala syntax is primarily a superset of Java syntax, invoking Java code from Scala is usually straightforward. Going the other direction requires that you understand how some Scala features are encoded in ways that satisfy the JVM specification. We discuss several of the interoperability issues here. [Spiewak2009a] and [Odersky2008] provide additional information.

Thanks for the suggestion. It would be a good topic, but I don't know if we'll have time to cover it before our completion deadline.
— deanwampler (2009-05-29 12:00:42)

Comment on 'Other Notable Scala Libraries and Tools'

2009-05-29T11:57:39-07:00

Other Notable Scala Libraries and Tools

Scalaz (http://code.google.com/p/scalaz/) is a library that fills-in gaps in the standard library. Among its features are enhancements to several core Scala types, such as Boolean, Unit, String, and Option, plus support for functional control abstractions, such as FoldLeft, FoldRight, Monad, etc. that expand upon what is available in the standard library.

Thanks for the update. I'll change the link.
— deanwampler (2009-05-29 11:57:39)