Summary
In this chapter, we discussed the advantages of using Scala over other programming languages and environments for scientific computing. These include static typing and strong support for functional programming. We discussed how this will help you write better scientific software. We compared Scala to other popular programming languages and discussed their comparative merits and demerits; that is, Scala will allow you to write faster, better structured software while also keeping most of the advantages of dynamic languages.
We had a quick overview of the major scientific packages available for use in Scala. These cover a range from linear algebra and data analysis to statistical modeling. Using the ENSIME mode for Emacs and other text editors as a Scala IDE was discussed; we have also shown how to use ENSIME when debugging Scala code. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we showed you how to use SBT to package, build, test, and distribute your software. Using well-established, convenient, and powerful build tools is very important since it removes a lot of the chores from writing software and allows you to concentrate on what is important.
We guided you through the process of writing, building, testing, and distributing an example library written in Scala. After all, you probably want your software to be used by other people. We also briefly describe how one would use Java libraries from a Scala program. You will want to know this since you will probably want your standalone program to have a nice Swing interface, or you could take advantage of JFreeChart when performing scientific plotting.
Tip
Downloading the example code
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