First look at Scala

There are so many newer programming languages out there. Perhaps one of these can solve your problems quicker. If your colleagues are talking about it, and you perhaps see job postings regarding it perhaps it doesn't hurt to take a look. I decide to look at "Scala". No, it is not pronounced "scalar" as in a non-vector simple value, it sounds more like "scholar"... ooh it supports multiple "paradigms". It can act like a functional language and a traditional OOP language... and it runs on the java virtual machine and can interact with java...

The book I picked up quoted James Gosling, the father of Java, "If I were to pick a language today other than Java, it would be Scala."

Now that's some endorsement.

Ok, a first look of this reminds me of Pascal! So why are variables are defined Pascal-style in a C-descended language that is supposed to work closely with Java? Oh, and the type is not always needed (like javascript)... The world now prefers dynamic things. There is a lot of syntax to this language.

I found an awesome spin-alot great presentation for Scala in: http://scalacamp.pl/intro/#/start. It is made by the now-that's-impressive impress.js. That makes regular Powerpoint slides feel like dinosaurs (but is simple slides more effective than overly rotating ones?)