Scala founder: Language due for 'fundamental rethink'

"The language is the code's biggest API" -- my own words.

Breaking that API will result in a new language.

Scala, like several other languages (JS, PHP, Perl), has had very little time to iterate on it's syntax before it got widely used. All these languages want/need to make breaking changes to their syntax, at which point they are at risk of becoming fragmented.

Python3 was not even so much different, still it was (and still is) a hard upgrade for the community.

I really hope Scala manages though, it's the largest FP-on-JVM community I guess, so good luck!

Well -- they have the Python 3 disaster to learn from... you can't break backwards compatibility for minor gains -- if you are going to break it -- break everything you must and make the new thing much better -- half measures in this regard suck.

Python is a dynamic language and a compiler can't do much in helping you move from 2 to 3. You really need good test coverage.

It's really absurd when people call Python 3 a "disaster". There was nothing disastrous about it. In fact, hindsight shows us that it was actually a very good path to take.

Python 3 didn't negatively affect Python 2 or earlier users. Their code still runs fine, and is well supported by a huge number of libraries. They weren't forced into upgrading against their will at any point.

Python 3 allowed the Python developers to make some breaking changes to the language and libraries. These have, without a doubt, improved the language.

Much Python 2 code, especially well-written code, can be automatically converted to Python 3 code with little to no effort. Anyone with any sensibility who has been writing new Python 2 code within the past few years has been keeping an upgrade to Python 3 in mind. Their transition should be quite painless.

Over time, more and more existing Python libraries have supported Python 3, or been replaced with significantly better replacements, as the need arose.

The fact that we see so many libraries simultaneously supporting both Python 2 and Python 3 goes to show that the community is not "divided" or anything like that.

The only downside is that it took a few years longer than people may have initially been expecting for certain libraries or frameworks to support Python 3. But at this point in time, Python 3 is a clean, usable language with very good third-party library support. Existing users weren't forced into using the new version, yet those developing the new version weren't constrained by compatibility concerns. The end result is an improved and usable language, achieved with minimal disruption.

Perl 6 is an example of a real disaster, on the other hand. It still doesn't have a truly good implementation, even after 10+ years. Not only is Perl 6 pretty much unusable in practice today, but the uncertainty it caused stunted the growth and development of Perl 5 for quite a while. It is only recently that we've seen people finally realize that Perl 6 is a lost cause, and get back to using and evolving Perl 5. Compared to Perl 6, the Python 3 development process was perfection.

Relevant: Will Java 8 Kill Scala?[1] (spoiler: Betteridge's law applies)

[1]http://ahmedsoliman.com/2014/03/26/will-java-8-kill-scala/