I have been using C and related languages since 1980. Switched to C++, later Java. Then about 7 years ago, I went all in on Scala, and have never looked back.

I have been using C and related languages since 1980. Switched to C++, later Java. Then about 7 years ago, I went all in on Scala, and have never looked back. Something like "i: int" is superior (at least in Scala), because the type annotation is optional. You can drop it, and just say "val i = 42". I believe it simplifies the parser as well. There is a reason many modern languages are adopting the style.