Scala is one of the powerful high-level programming languages that supports both object-oriented programming and functional programming. It also supports vast application developments, including web development, data processing, distributed computing, and other Java applications.

It is known as the high-level, general-purpose programming language that makes good use of Java libraries and JVM features. It is also known as the type-safe JVM programming language. It is a powerful static language. Scala doesn’t include the concept of primitive data. Everything in Scala is considered to be an object, whether it is a number or a function.

Scala was developed by Martin Odersky and was released for the Java platform. It was influenced by Java, Lisp, Pizza, Haskell, etc., has influenced many other programming languages like Fantom, F#, Red, etc. Scala is highly appreciated for its extensive range of development of many applications, where you can create mobile applications, web applications, desktop-based applications, enterprise applications, and many more. 

Scala is used for parallel batch processing, web applications, data streaming with Akka, extensive utilities and libraries, data analysis with Spark, Ad hoc scripting in REPL, concurrency and distributed application, AWS lambda expression, and many more.

Industries and developers prefer Scala because it can create any application in a shorter time period with minimal coding. Scala can develop any application, whether it is mobile-based, web-based, or desktop-based. This is possible because Scala allows you to use powerful tools, libraries, and APIs that provide a platform to build your applications rapidly.

Scala is vastly and actively used by many of the popular applications. Twitter is one of them that shifted its large portions of backend from Ruby to Scala and is planning to convert the rest. Java, Play framework, and Apple Inc. utilize Scala at a specific range. 

The New York Times has revealed that its Blackbeard internal content management system is developed using Scala, Play framework, and Akka. Google makes use of Scala for Firebase and Nest. Scala handles the backend platform of Walmart Canada.

Some of the features of Scala include:

• Immutability
• Type Inference
• Lazy computation
• Singleton Object
• Concurrency control
• Case classes and pattern matching
• String interpolation
• Traits
• Higher-order function
• Rich collection set

Type Inference

Scala is one innovative language where you do not need to explicitly mention the data type or function return type as it smartly deduces the data type. It determines the return type of the function from the type of expression present at the last of the function. 

Singleton Object

In Scala, a singleton object is declared, and it has no static methods or variables. This singleton object is nothing but a source file containing the class with only one object. A singleton object is declared using the object keyword rather than the class keyword.

Lazy Computation

Scala supports lazy computation by default. Scala evaluates the expressions only when they are required. You can also declare lazy variables with the help of the lazy keyword. This is used for increasing the performance.

Concurrency Control

Scala uses the actor model with the help of the standard library. You can utilize this actor model for writing concurrency code. Concurrency is also supported by another platform and tool of Scala called Akka. Akka is a separate open-source framework that supports actor-based concurrency. Its actors may be distributed or combined with software transactional memory.

Higher-Order Functions

The function works with another function which is known as the higher-order function. The higher-order function in Scala either takes a function as an argument or returns a function. This function helps you in the creation of lambda functions, anonymous functions, or function composition.

Learn more about Scala and other features and concepts in-depth by enrolling in Great Learning Academy’s free Scala courses. Get hold of the free Scala certificates on the successful completion of the registered courses.