Javaites won't do Scala

David Pollack writes "Scala use is less good than Java use for at least half of all Java projects". And I agree with his conclusion that

"Scala is an inappropriate language for the majority of Java developers and cannot be expected to replace Java because for at least 50% of Java developers, Scala's difficulty outweighs its value."

But it is dangerous to draw the conclusion that Scala isn't a suitable replacement for Java :-). I don't have the experience David has using Scala. I did however make the transition to object oriented programming in the late 1990:s while working at a large company, and I was responsible for Java technology at said company for a brief period of time.

When Java and Microsoft took over the world, it wasn't by replacing Cobol and RPG with Java and VB. Instead, new projects used these technologies, and there were ambitious programmers ready to man those projects. First came the r&d labs, followed by pilots, and years later, full scale projects. Most old school developers didn't learn Java until much later, some still haven't. But as time goes on, more and more old systems are retired, but more importantly, the number of new applications is exploding, swamping the number of old ones. And I don't believe we have seen the end of that trend.

So the future of Scala will not depend on if most Java developers transitions to Scala. It will depend on whether Scala can compete with other newcomers on the corporate scene.

One final thought, writing Java in Scala will not necessarily make projects fail, and is inevitable in a large company. The code will improve over time (with new projects), and the productivity gains realized, but it will take several years.