> "java with type inference" Scala only has very limited inference. In fact, so limited that, based on this criterion alone, I would take Java's powerful refac

> "java with type inference" Scala only has very limited inference. In fact, so limited that, based on this criterion alone, I would take Java's powerful refactoring tools over Scala's inference anytime. (One of my main uses of inference is enabling fearless aggressive refactoring.) But let's say Scala had a type system amenable to global inference with a nice principal types property. This does not prevent you from having to annotate types when, at a module boundary, you want a term to have a more specialized type than its principal type. (Within module boundaries, it is admittedly no big deal to have terms whose types are more generic than their use would warrant.) > "no semicolons, and a shorter form of final" You cannot tell me with a straight face that cosmetic syntactic changes are a particularly compelling reason to switch languages. (Well, you can, but then you cannot convince me you are a pragmatic engineer.) > "it's already an improvement over java." Yes, but, without taking advantage of Scala's powerful type system, is the improvement over Java substantial enough to justify the investment in learning a new language?