22 Jan 2011

London Scala User Group: How the Guardian (mostly) moved from Java to Scala

LSUG Guardian Event 2011

Graham Tackley spoke at a packed LSUG about how guardian.co.uk implemented their first Scala project, the content API.  It’s well worth watching the video to see the timeline of how the team switched their brains from Java to Scala (what the team initially liked, what they liked after a year, grokking flatMap, tools, and more).  

The result after the transition: more fun, better code, more productive and happier developers.  Regarding the cost of switching, the comment from the team during the Q&A was: there’s a learning curve to Scala, but providing you have someone to lead the way, the switch doesn’t materially effect delivery in the first three months, and post three months the team becomes more productive.

Go watch that video, and if you’re close by, sign up to the London Scala User Group.  I had a sneak peek at some of the talks for 2011, and there are some great ones in there.

*Related content: *

You might also like David Copeland’s Sneaking Scala Into Your Organization video from Scala Days 2010.