Scala is one of those frustrating languages for me. A lot of the basic syntax and concepts are very much as I’d wish to do them myself. For example, I wrote a

Scala is one of those frustrating languages for me. A lot of the basic syntax and concepts are very much as I’d wish to do them myself. For example, I wrote a toy compiler years ago that not only used the var/val distinction but even used exactly the same terminology. I’ve seen a few videos of Martin Odersky, and he’s one of those presenters where I find myself nodding along with almost everything. Sadly, I think Scala suffers from a similar heritage problem to C++. The good ideas underlying it always seem slightly held back by the historical baggage and compatibility issues, and somehow it never feels quite as clean and tidy as it should. I understand the benefits of building on such well-established foundations, but as with effects in Haskell, sometimes silly things just seem to take far more effort than they should, even though much of the language appeals to me.