Beginning Scala

The open source Scala language is a Java?based dynamic scripting, functional programming language. Moreover, this highly scalable scripting language lends itself well to building Cloud?based/deliverable Software as a Service (SaaS) online applications.

Written by Lift Scala web framework founder and lead Dave Pollak, Beginning Scala takes a down?to?earth approach to teaching Scala that leads you through simple examples that can be combined to build complex, scalable systems and applications.

This book introduces you to the Scala programming language and then guides you through Scala constructs and libraries that allow small and large teams to assemble small components into high?performance, scalable systems. You will learn why Scala is becoming the language of choice for Web 2.0 companies such as Twitter as well as enterprises such as Seimens and SAP.

What you?ll learn Get running with the Scala programming language for functional Java, Java?based, and Cloud?based/deliverable applications development, and more. Understand the basic syntax and mechanisms for writing Scala programs. Discover the techniques for and advantages of using immutable data structures. Create functional programming techniques for defining and managing concurrency. Use a complex type system and traits to define object?oriented programs. Work with Scala constructs and libraries that allow teams of any size to assemble small components into high?performance, scalable systems. Build complex systems based on the simple examples learned along the way through this book.
Who is this book for?

Java developers looking to reduce boilerplate, improve team performance, improve interteam dynamics, and build more scalable and robust systems. Also, this book will appeal to Java developers looking to do Cloud?based development. Lastly, Ruby, Python, and Groovy programmers looking for a higher?performance and a more robust language will benefit.

About the Apress Beginning Series

The Beginning series from Apress is the right choice to get the information you need to land that crucial entry?level job. These books will teach you a standard and important technology from the ground up because they are explicitly designed to take you from ?novice to professional.? You?ll start your journey by seeing what you need to know?but without needless theory and filler. You?ll build your skill set by learning how to put together real?world projects step by step. So whether your goal is your next career challenge or a new learning opportunity, the Beginning series from Apress will take you there?it is your trusted guide through unfamiliar territory!

User review
Overall ok, but not initially well paced or explained
I concur completely with the review Michael Ernest wrote. I am a long time Java developer and frequently found myself lost during the first half of this book. The author jumps into seemingly complex Scala specific operators and expressions without explaining them; at least not for a few chapters anyway. Don't know what `def sumSq(in: List[Double]): (Int, Double, Double) =in.foldLeft((0, 0d, 0d))((t, v) => (t._1 + 1, t._2 + v, t._3 + v * v))` means? Too bad. `Apparently you should` is the constant impression I got throughout the text.

Eventually things even out a bit as more and more is explained, but a better paced introduction to the key concepts and syntax of the language would have served the purpose of the book better, I think.

User review
It's OK
Having had some exposure to Java, I was hopeful to pick up a beginner's level text. The title turned out to be a misnomer in that respect.

User review
It's a beginning book,,.
I've been hearing about various other languages that are available for the JVM for a while. I've seen presentations at my local Java user group and at conferences like NFJS and TechFest however, until now I have not really checked into what all of the excitement is about. I just received the book Beginning Scala by David Pollak and read the first 4 chapters the first night. Over the next few days I finished out the rest of the book. I like the idea of a better than Java language as I will admit Java is not perfect. It takes more code than it should to accomplish some tasks. However, is Scala the best alternative to languages for the JVM, I think that the jury is still out. Scala brings to the table a more simple construct but does have a learning curve from Java. Scala is much more functional than Ruby, has better synchronization than Groovy and includes immutability which Java should have had in the first place. The only downside that I can see (and this is just from reading the book without experience in Scala) it may be a little too terse.

The book itself is a great introduction to Scala and if you have not used a dynamic language and want to start with Scala you need this book. It takes you through, rather quickly, the installation and basic syntax of the language. I wish that this part was explained a little more but it does get its point across. I would also like to see more comparisons against Java. Since most people that would be using this book would probably know Java it would be helpful to have more comparisons especially in the syntax area. The rest of the book walks you through using collections, JDBC and Scala's strong suit concurrency plus a few other items. I also think that the author's writing style and grammar was excellent for this type of book. Many times you read a book in the information technology field and there is poor sentence structure and spelling mistakes. I did not see any blatant issues at least in my first pass through the book.

The last chapter (9) gives you a compelling reason to start using Scala and introduce it into your corporate culture. Working at a large company that has known to not live on the technological edge, language wise, I know what kind of uphill battle it may be to bring a new language into a company. However, this language may be on my list to work with over the next year.


User review
Beginning Scala is not just for beginners
(Adapted from a similar blog article I wrote, at [,,.])

I picked up a copy of Beginning Scala a week ago, and I'm finding it to be a useful complement to Programming in Scala. I find, when I'm learning a new language, that different approaches fire different synapses. Programming in Scala (sometimes called `the staircase book`, for its front cover) is an in-depth book that covers Scala in great detail. It is, in every way, the K & R of Scala. I have a copy of Programming in Scala; I've read it, and I continue to refer to it and re-read parts of it.

Now that I'm about halfway through Beginning Scala, I'm finding that it's pointing out some new tricks, tricks I missed in the staircase book and on the mailing lists. I'm certain I could find these tricks find by poring back over the staircase book, but Pollak's clear, concise and highly practical approach makes them readily apparent and easy to grasp.

I've been using Scala for several months now, and it's not the first programming language I've taught myself (not by a long shot). It is a complex and powerful language, and I cannot learn all its tricks from one book, or even from reading alone. I'll be learning it and refining my use of it for awhile yet. Alternate viewpoints help, and although Beginning Scala is ostensibly targeted at Scala beginners, it assumes the reader is not a programming beginner or an idiot. It's written in a concise, practical style that contrasts nicely with the style of Programming in Scala. The different approaches the two books take hammer home many of the concepts of Scala in a way that either book, by itself, does not.

Neither book has made it to my bookshelf yet, because I keep referring to both of them. For me, that's proof enough of their value. If you're just learning Scala, or if you've been using it for awhile, you'll likely find great value in Beginning Scala.


User review
Needs better editing, organization, insights.
Frankly I am puzzled by the glowing reviews of this book. While I have found it helpful for getting started on a few points, the elements that threw me off track or had me reaching for other resources made getting through the volume difficult.

On the whole, the book feels to me as if it had been rather casually assembled from a series of notes or perhaps blog entry passages. While I understand the book is posed as an interactive, exploratory guide, there are several cases where an example using an unfamiliar language element is explained several pages later as if being introduced for the first time. There are other cases where a concept is explained several times as if starting over, which makes the `tour` seem ill-organized.

The first major code example is a huge leap from the starter lines. It introduces at once not only several major concepts, but also a few economies of expression that are made possible in Scala. It was so much stuff all in one place, and very early on, that I wasn't at all sure what to focus on. I spent a great deal of my time, after reading through once, trying to piece together what there was to learn from this guide. I have also far more questions about the language and its use than I started with -- a good thing in many respects -- but many of my questions start with whether I've understood a given point correctly.

Like the author, I lack any formal training in functional programming, so my knowledge gap may be wider than the average interested reader. As a teacher myself, however, I am convinced that a beginning guide can and should be systematic without sacrificing an interactive style. Key concepts should have some introductory text before applying several of them in one go in a dense piece of code. I certainly don't doubt the author's abilities and desire to inform others well, but I had to work a lot harder than I expected to get what I wanted from this guide.