I don't want the language to dictate how I use it. I'd prefer the language not to look out for me. There might be some, but a lot of languages look out way too much. Golang for example doesn't allow you to compile if there is an unused var. Java with private as the default.
It is great that there is a production-ready language that differs from other languages.
> Python is multi paradigm, but does several things really well that other ecosystems do not.
Both Perl and Ruby can be, and often are, used instead of Python to great success for similar concerns. IOW, the three are often Liskov substitutable[0].
> Javascript as well.
You're kidding, right?
> What claim to fame does Scala have in this regard ...
Scala supports declarative, generative, imperative, meta, and object-oriented paradigms. All of which are supported by at least, but not limited to, the JVM and JavaScript runtimes.
These capabilities transcend libraries (such as Akka) and/or frameworks (such as Spark).
0 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liskov_substitution_principle
I have to both agree and disagree with some of the commenters here regarding why scala declined in usage. There are several reasons.
1. People just got fed up with the push toward pure FP and the complexity. Pure FP and category theory, and effect libraries are just not for the average audience.
2. Android support for Kotlin drastically reduced the momentum as well
3. Spark usage was pretty heavy driver for using Scala and I’m not sure about it’s used as much.
4. Scala became more and more niche as a result of item 1 above.
This being said, I switched to Kotlin for all server side work. I think a language and in particular the ecosystem, needs the vision/stewardship that can offer more practicality and balance in the language design, programming style, tooling, and frameworks. Kotlin just became a simpler language with better support for all of the above.
I can’t think of a better company to drive the development than Jetbrains. I don’t agree with all the choices, but Kotlin overall is a beautiful, simpler language, with all the practicality, and support needed to keep it going.
However, now that Java is making strides in the language features, as compared to historical improvements at the VM level, I’m curious to see how the market share for Kotlin outside of android is going to be affected.
Personally, I still prefer Kotlin for the practical FP support, Ktor as an HTTP server, and pretty good compatibility with Java. And lastly, I think there is enormous potential in multiplatform, as a strong alternative to typescript/react native for mobile.
Disclosure: I am biased as I’m developing some libraries and soon to be made (more) public server framework.
2. Android has never been even remotely relevant to the space where Scala exists. And no, this was not a missed opportunity for the language. People who think Scala had a shot are completely delusional.
3. I'm personally convinced Spark was the worst thing that happened to the ecosystem as it brought a lot of attention, and indeed, drove adoption, only to result in an incredible amount of shitty code plagued by the worst annoyances in the JVM and big data space. Spark is the biggest open source project in Scala, yet Databricks doesn't seem to give a damn about the language and couldn't even be bothered shipping a Scala 2.13 runtime for years after its release. I sincerely hope Spark moves away from the JVM entirely.
Kotlin is really not any simpler especially with the constant feature creep that results in copying Scala features, only halfbaked. It's even less principled which is the biggest gripe against Scala having too many ways to do the same thing. There's nothing beautiful or practical about a language where people regularly write expression oriented code next to early returns.
And it's faster (or maybe my laptop is faster).
A language that is really popular can manage having 5 ways to do things, but a small community is just going to lose steam. And the fact is, all the ways work just fine in a vacuum, but you can't just get really mature tooling when everything is just so split.
I’ve always hated Java but Scala was super fun.
I think mostly Kotlin being simpler and Java gaining features ate the lunch. Also, software like Akka and Spark becoming less prevalent hurt because they were big reasons for devs to learn the language. Not to mention the community drama.
The only bad thing was that it took quite long for Scala3 to become available leading to a lot of stagnation.
The Enterprise ecosystem quickly withered away, and now only type level programming diehards remain.
You're right about Spark and the next logical step will be removing the JVM from the equation entirely, which is already ongoing (see Photon or Comet).
I don't find it disappointing: I tend to consider that Scala was an inspiration for Kotlin. Maybe Kotlin won by being simpler, and definitely because of the tooling and community: being backed by JetBrains and Google helps.
For a long time, the tooling was very limited with Scala, which must have slowed its adoption, right?