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Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

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Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#141

Post by codygman »

eranation wrote: post #60

I tried learning Clojure, I really did, and I have to agree, the syntax is simpler, but I can't really read Clojure or code in Clojure the way I do in Scala, I don't know why. Whenever I read articles about Scala, I keep finding it amusing, prehaps this is because I had experience with Java, but for me Scala is a life saver, can't go back to Java after this. And I won't go back to Ruby, Python or JavaScript. So I can…

You might want to check back on Haskell again sometime in the future. It has been my experience that the number of Haskellers writing productive "real world" code is increasing and as a result the paths to do those things are becoming easier.

Though, this could just be me getting more comfortable with the language, knowing where to look, or a combination thereof.

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#142

Post by eropple »

kvtrew76557 wrote: post #122
JulianMorrison wrote: post #54

Problem: author is pining for Go, and doesn't know it. Solution: author should abandon the JVM ecosystem and use Go. - Fast compiles. - Ultra simple, non extensible syntax, yet not verbose in practise. - The code you see is 100% of the code. - A culture of implementing the simple algorithm. - Stable, with version compatibility guarantees. - Nobody is trying to make the types jump through hoops, so the type inference…

I happen to like Go, but the excessive marketing of Go on HN as a solution to every "problem" is tiresome.

Agreed; I like a lot of what I see in Go (though admittedly I liked it about as much when I saw it before Go was released) but the hype is getting to the point where it's impossible to take the general Go advocacy on HN seriously.

I'm starting to wonder when, when I mention C++, I'm going to be told that Go will fix all my problems. (Rust might; Go won't.)

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#143

Post by MetaCosm »

rdtsc wrote: post #140
MetaCosm wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great comment. I agree with nearly everything you said, but where I end up is the polar opposite. I can't stand Scala for all the reasons you mentioned. The poetry thing is really dead on -- when Larry Wall spoke of Perl -- he said he explicitly wanted you to be able to write poetry with it. This led to the write once, read never reputation of Perl... that Scala is quickly stealing. Scala is on my "will not work with…

> Scala is on my "will not work with" list of languages/technologies Just curious, what are the some languages/platforms you like or enjoy using? (Mine are Python, Erlang and Go for ex).

Hobby wise: Haskell, Rust, Nimrod, Haxe

Shipping code: Go, Erlang, C++11 (avoiding legacy), F# (with Xamarin)

I program in many more, but those are probably my top 8 right now.

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#144

Post by MetaCosm »

eropple wrote: post #137
MetaCosm wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indeed, DEEP in the east coast systems. But, it was great for me, it was literally name my own price consulting (lawyer rates) with multi-month contracts. I would guess it still is a name your own price market if you have the stomach for it. Travel and horrible tech. I was in an odd position of having picked up 4GL and MUMPS via odd random ways when I was 19/20 -- so when everyone who used to maintain those systems v…

I've been considering picking both up on the off chance I run into legacy systems. Any suggested reading material?

Not really, I was lucky enough to have mentor who literally just let me screw around with them. I had hundreds of real hours programming random stuff on both, as well as fixing real world problems with the safety of someone double checking. So I was very comfortable and I mostly used reference manuals for quick look-ups.

These systems are VERY different that what you are most likely used too, so having face time with them is really important.

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#145

Post by xmonkee »

yohanatan wrote: post #94
lemmsjid wrote: post #49

I'd say a lot of the critiques are fair but quite exaggerated. I work on a large Scala codebase and yes, the compile times for a fresh start across the codebase are very long, but TDD-type loops are very short, because you're generally waiting for two files (your test target and your test code). Still, the compiler performance in Scala is perhaps my chief criticism, though hardly a show-stopper. As codebases in any l…

Is 'legalese' really a high-level language? It seems to contain a ton of boilerplate. Signal-to-noise ratio is quite low in reality. It could much more succinctly be encoded in a formal language. Also, I think you exaggerate the 'Scala is bad because DSLs' point. There are indeed a lot of libraries which overuse symbols but you are not obligated to use them. I have found the Scala I've written and read personally to…

>Is 'legalese' really a high-level language

I think he meant the language that lawyers might use amongst themselves. Legalese is actually fairly low level. It's like a fully type annotated version of English that redefines all library functions each time.

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#146

Post by xmonkee »

eranation wrote: post #60

I tried learning Clojure, I really did, and I have to agree, the syntax is simpler, but I can't really read Clojure or code in Clojure the way I do in Scala, I don't know why. Whenever I read articles about Scala, I keep finding it amusing, prehaps this is because I had experience with Java, but for me Scala is a life saver, can't go back to Java after this. And I won't go back to Ruby, Python or JavaScript. So I can…

Nimrod's got me so hot. Much pretty. Doing anything in it so far?

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#149

Post by microtonal »

kvtrew76557 wrote: post #117
MetaCosm wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great comment. I agree with nearly everything you said, but where I end up is the polar opposite. I can't stand Scala for all the reasons you mentioned. The poetry thing is really dead on -- when Larry Wall spoke of Perl -- he said he explicitly wanted you to be able to write poetry with it. This led to the write once, read never reputation of Perl... that Scala is quickly stealing. Scala is on my "will not work with…

I've developed and maintained multiple large systems in a team using various languages. I would much rather maintain a system written in Scala than either Java or various scripting languages we've used and the view is shared by the whole team. It's far less verbose than Java and very maintainable compared to other very large systems written in scripting languages.

There are other JVM languages that are far less verbose than Java, without the complexity of Scala, with better compile times, and better compatibility with plain-old Java. For instance, Kotlin.

Re: Scala – 1 Star – Would Not Program Again

#150

Post by kenbot »

bootily wrote: post #3

As a java Dev I have been watching Scala to see what people make of it. It seems like Scala is generally perceived as an academic exercise. We all want more powerful tools and infinite expression but at what point are we bikeshedding languages instead of building transparently clear solutions? Scala seems to be solving problems i dont have.

There's a lot of "seems" going around from people who haven't used the language, or dynamic-typing folk who obviously aren't going to pick a language that bets the farm on static types.

As a long-time Java dev myself, Scala is solving problems you don't even realise you have, because you don't know to look for them.

Powerful types, immutable state and FP make a world of difference for writing clear solutions, with better abstractions, less code, less bugs and less bullshit than the horrendous status quo of corporate Java development.

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