A Scalable language

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. At the root, the language’s scalability is the result of a careful integration of object-oriented and functional language concepts. Scala is the preferred workhorse language for many mission-critical server systems. The generated code is on a par with Java’s and its precise typing means that many problems are caught at compile-time rather than after deployment.

Object-Oriented

Scala is a pure-bred object-oriented language. Conceptually, every value is an object and every operation is a method call. The language supports advanced component architectures through classes and traits.

Functional

Even though its syntax is fairly conventional, Scala is also a full-blown functional language. It has everything you would expect, including first-class functions, a library with efficient immutable data structures, and a general preference of immutability over mutation.

Seamless Java Interop

Scala runs on the JVM. Java and Scala classes can be freely mixed, no matter whether they reside in different projects or in the same. They can even mutually refer to each other, the Scala compiler contains a subset of a Java compiler to make sense of such recursive dependencies.

Fun

Maybe most important is that programming in Scala tends to be very enjoyable. No boilerplate, rapid iteration, but at the same time the safety of a strong static type system. As Graham Tackley from the Guardian says: “We’ve found that Scala has enabled us to deliver things faster with less code. It’s reinvigorated the team.”