Scala for the Impatient
Scala for the Impatient
Copyright © Cay S. Horstmann 2012. All Rights Reserved. The evolution of Java and C++ has slowed down considerably, and programmers who are eager to use more modern language features are looking elsewhere. Scala is an attractive choice; in fact, I think it is by far the most attractive choice for programmers who want to move beyond Java or C++. Scala has a concise syntax that is refreshing after the Java boilerplate. It runs on the Java virtual machine, providing access to a huge set of libraries and tools. It embraces the functional programming style without abandoning object-orientation, giving you an incremental learning path to a new paradigm. The Scala interpreter lets you run quick experiments, which makes learning Scala very enjoyable. And, last but not least, Scala is statically typed, enabling the compiler to find errors, so that you don't waste time finding them later in running programs (or worse, don't find them). I wrote this book for impatient readers who want to start programming with Scala right away. I assume you know Java, C#, or C++, and I won't bore you with explaining variables, loops, or classes. I won't exhaustively list all features of the language, I won't lecture you about the superiority of one paradigm over another, and I won't make you suffer through long and contrived examples. Instead, you will get the information that you need in compact chunks that you can read and review as needed. Scala is a big language, but you can use it effectively without knowing all of its details intimately. Martin Odersky, the creator of Scala, has identified the following levels of expertise for application programmers and library designers:
Application Programmer Library Designer Overall Scala Level Beginning (A1) Intermediate (A2) Expert (A3) Junior (L1) Senior (L2) Expert (L3) Beginning Intermediate Advanced Expert
For each chapter (and occasionally for individual sections), I indicate the experience level. The chapters
Copyright © Cay S. Horstmann 2012. All Rights Reserved. The evolution of Java and C++ has slowed down considerably, and programmers who are eager to use more modern language features are looking elsewhere. Scala is an attractive choice; in fact, I think it is by far the most attractive choice for programmers who want to move beyond Java or C++. Scala has a concise syntax that is refreshing after the Java boilerplate. It runs on the Java virtual machine, providing access to a huge set of libraries and tools. It embraces the functional programming style without abandoning object-orientation, giving you an incremental learning path to a new paradigm. The Scala interpreter lets you run quick experiments, which makes learning Scala very enjoyable. And, last but not least, Scala is statically typed, enabling the compiler to find errors, so that you don't waste time finding them later in running programs (or worse, don't find them). I wrote this book for impatient readers who want to start programming with Scala right away. I assume you know Java, C#, or C++, and I won't bore you with explaining variables, loops, or classes. I won't exhaustively list all features of the language, I won't lecture you about the superiority of one paradigm over another, and I won't make you suffer through long and contrived examples. Instead, you will get the information that you need in compact chunks that you can read and review as needed. Scala is a big language, but you can use it effectively without knowing all of its details intimately. Martin Odersky, the creator of Scala, has identified the following levels of expertise for application programmers and library designers:
Application Programmer Library Designer Overall Scala Level Beginning (A1) Intermediate (A2) Expert (A3) Junior (L1) Senior (L2) Expert (L3) Beginning Intermediate Advanced Expert
For each chapter (and occasionally for individual sections), I indicate the experience level. The chapters