Scala Blockchain
Scala
Scala is basically an acronym for “Scalable Language”. Scala is not just another general purpose programming language, but the aspect where it stands out is the programming code pattern is simple, elegant, concise, and type safe way. It supports both object oriented and functional programming. The language is steadily gaining popularity among the programmers and one day might even dethrone Java as the most popular among the developers. The major contributing factor for this is that it’s quite easy to learn, and is in-line with the present breakthroughs of technology like Big Data, Spark, Scalding, Akka, Scorex and many more.
With its rapid growth and evolution Scala has been adopted by the likes tech giants like Foursquare, Twitter and many more. Here are some technologies and frameworks that has been built on Scala
- Big data
- Akka
- Scalding (by Twitter)
- Apache Spark
- Scorex
- Finagle (by Twitter)
- Apache Samza
- Apache Kafka
Object-oriented Scala
As it is a purely object-oriented language; Types and behavior of objects are described by class and traits. The classes can be extended by sub classing and a more flexible mixing based composition mechanism, which serves as a clean replacement for multiple inheritances.
Functional Scala
Apart from object-oriented properties, Scala is also a functional language. It provides lightweight syntax for defining anonymous functions, supports higher order functions, allows functions to be nested,, and also supports currying. Scala’s case classes has a built-in support for the pattern matching model algebraic types used in many functional programming languages. Scala also provides a convenient way to group functions that doesn’t belong to members of a class.
Scala is statically typed
Scala is loaded with a more expressive type system that enforces abstractions to be used in a safe and coherent manner.
In particular, the type system supports:
- Variance annotation
- Generic classes
- Abstraction types and inner class object members
- Upper and Lower type bounds
- Explicitly typed self references
- Compound types
- Polymorphic methods
- Conversions and Implicit parameters
- Scala is extensible
Why Scala?
We have narrowed it down to 5 reasons
- An object- oriented language that supports advanced component architecture via classes and traits.
- A functional language that supports immutable data structures
- Most commonly used in Big Data and many other framework development
- Effortless integration with Java and at times caters the shortcomings in Java
- Lines of code are simple, clear and concise.
Scala for Blockchain
Blockchain being the next big thing that can overwhelmingly replace the middleware, and Scala growing equally in popularity; what better way is there, than to build a data block oriented technology using Scala coding platform. With the success of Bitcoins more tech verticals are looking to adapt and integrate the blockchain technology with their own.
Here’s why your blockchain project should be built on Scala
- Reduces many thread safety concerns that is encountered in traditional Java applications
- More flexible, concise and straightforward syntax
- Best suited for component based applications that support distribution and concurrency
- Allows for much quicker implementation and enhances the performance
- Quite easy to solve concurrency issues
- Works seamlessly with the existing Java codes
- Scala provides XML support
In a nutshell, Scala is a versatile and rich language that combines features of different languages. The codes and syntax are much cleaner, faster and concise.
To wrap it up, Scala is an awesome language that makes coding enjoyable and not tedious. But it is also used by many major corporations; most notably Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and The Guardian.
