[rules-dev] Scala

[Michael Neale]

Hey All. I have been looking into scala for sometime, and recently
started using it for a testing tool (kind of a replacement for the
"fit for rules" library).
I have been quite impressed with it, the tool integration (with
intelliJ) is outstanding, and it works nice with maven (even with
mixed java source).

Assuming this goes well, I am thinking of extending the usage of scala
to the server side components of bits of guvnor (obviously the client
is still GWT). Probably in a small way at first (I have found that
common annoying bits of code in java can be much clearer in scala -
examples to come !).

I was interested in what people think about this? Does it make it
harder for people to get into the code (I am not aiming to write the
densest scala, just use it when approriate)?

The main downsides I see are: Eclipse support - the plugin for eclipse
for scala is not great at the moment (netbeans or intelliJ would be
better), and general familiarity for people to read (although I
personally think it would take anyone who reads this list minutes to
learn enough to follow the simple things I would do).

Thoughts? Objections?

FAQ: Why scala? well its closer to java in intent then all other
popular JVM languages (ie its static) and compiles down similarly to
result in similar performance (better in some cases). I use "closures"
a lot (thanks to GWT that got be in the habit) but the inner class way
of doing it in java gets combersome.

-- 
Michael D Neale
home: www.michaelneale.net
blog: michaelneale.blogspot.com