Scala for a Newbie

Hi,

There is not really anything out there for absolute beginners, but it
will happen eventually. Beginning java tutorials would help you get off
the ground in scala. Because as you'll see, scala actually saves a lot
of the headaches that java causes. For example you don't have to worry
about forgetting a semicolon, or having to type a long variable declaration.

Here are some more beginner friendly scala tutorials though (parts of them):

First steps to scala:
http://www.artima.com/scalazine/articles/steps.html

Scala tutorial:
http://www.scala-lang.org/docu/files/ScalaTutorial.pdf

If you find a really good beginner tutorial for java or python, let me
know and I can help translate it into scala.

-Doug

btw. the 'beginning scala' book is coming along great, but totally not
for beginners :) It is actually quite advanced stuff, parsers, actors, etc.

Randin wrote:
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?

--
Doug Holton
http://edtechdev.blogspot.com/

Also, take small pieces of scala code and play around with them. See
what changes produce what results or errors. You may find the
interpreter or an IDE helpful. And ask questions! :)

On 3/25/09, Doug Holton wrote:
> Hi,
>
> There is not really anything out there for absolute beginners, but it
> will happen eventually. Beginning java tutorials would help you get off
> the ground in scala. Because as you'll see, scala actually saves a lot
> of the headaches that java causes. For example you don't have to worry
> about forgetting a semicolon, or having to type a long variable declaration.
>
> Here are some more beginner friendly scala tutorials though (parts of them):
>
> First steps to scala:
> http://www.artima.com/scalazine/articles/steps.html
>
> Scala tutorial:
> http://www.scala-lang.org/docu/files/ScalaTutorial.pdf
>
> If you find a really good beginner tutorial for java or python, let me
> know and I can help translate it into scala.
>
> -Doug
>
> btw. the 'beginning scala' book is coming along great, but totally not
> for beginners :) It is actually quite advanced stuff, parsers, actors, etc.
>
>
> Randin wrote:
>> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
>> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
>> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
>> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to
>> learn
>> Java first?
>
>
> --
> Doug Holton
> http://edtechdev.blogspot.com/
>

The #scala IRC channel is pretty good for random tiny questions, and
of course the mailing lists here are very helpful.

2009/3/26 Randin :
>
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Scala-for-a-Newbie-tp22715109p22715109.html
> Sent from the Scala - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>

The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be: "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 9:03 AM, Ricky Clarkson <ricky.clarkson@gmail.com> wrote:

The #scala IRC channel is pretty good for random tiny questions, and
of course the mailing lists here are very helpful.

2009/3/26 Randin <randinn@hotmail.com>:
>
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?
> --
> View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Scala-for-a-Newbie-tp22715109p22715109.html
> Sent from the Scala - User mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>
>

--
Viktor Klang
Senior Systems Analyst

> The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be:
> "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"

Then I would try to organise a radio interview, where
you will have to mention the title every 2 minutes :-P

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:40 AM, Randin wrote:
>
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?
> --
If you have some previous programming experience (not necessarily in
Java), working through Programming in Scala should be quite doable. I
know someone who did that coming from VisualBasic, and he had no
problems. If you are an absolute beginner, there's nothing out there
yet for you, I am afraid.

Ceers

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 10:17 AM, Detering Dirk <Dirk.Detering@bitmarck.de> wrote:

> The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be:
> "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"

Then I would try to organise a radio interview, where
you will have to mention the title every 2 minutes :-P

It's just syntactic sugar for: "Scala - Function1[n00b,Ninja]"
 


--
Viktor Klang
Senior Systems Analyst

While, in theory you may not have to learn Java to write a Scala program, I suspect that, in practice you will need some rudimentary ability to understand Java in order to be able to learn about and use Java libraries within your Scala code - for e.g., as highlighted in a recent thread on this list - having to use the standard java file IO API.

Ishaaq

2009/3/26 martin odersky <martin.odersky@epfl.ch>

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:40 AM, Randin <randinn@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?
> --
If you have some previous programming experience (not necessarily in
Java), working through Programming in Scala should be quite doable. I
know someone who did that coming from VisualBasic, and he had no
problems. If you are an absolute beginner, there's nothing out there
yet for you, I am afraid.

Ceers

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 6:11 AM, Ishaaq Chandy <ishaaq@gmail.com> wrote:

While, in theory you may not have to learn Java to write a Scala program, I suspect that, in practice you will need some rudimentary ability to understand Java in order to be able to learn about and use Java libraries within your Scala code - for e.g., as highlighted in a recent thread on this list - having to use the standard java file IO API.

Ishaaq

2009/3/26 martin odersky <martin.odersky@epfl.ch>

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:40 AM, Randin <randinn@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?
> --
If you have some previous programming experience (not necessarily in
Java), working through Programming in Scala should be quite doable. I
know someone who did that coming from VisualBasic, and he had no
problems. If you are an absolute beginner, there's nothing out there
yet for you, I am afraid.

If you are a beginner, or if you just want to tinker with programming as a hobby, you might consider trying Python. You'll be up and running much faster than you will with Scala. Don't get me wrong; Scala has many advantages over Python, but simplicity is not one of them.

Russ P.

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 5:12 AM, Viktor Klang <viktor.klang@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 10:17 AM, Detering Dirk <Dirk.Detering@bitmarck.de> wrote:

> The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be:
> "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"

Then I would try to organise a radio interview, where
you will have to mention the title every 2 minutes :-P

It's just syntactic sugar for: "Scala - Function1[n00b,Ninja]"
 

Does that function have side effects? 8^)
 

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 7:38 PM, Russ Paielli <russ.paielli@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 5:12 AM, Viktor Klang <viktor.klang@gmail.com> wrote:

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 10:17 AM, Detering Dirk <Dirk.Detering@bitmarck.de> wrote:

> The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be:
> "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"

Then I would try to organise a radio interview, where
you will have to mention the title every 2 minutes :-P

It's just syntactic sugar for: "Scala - Function1[n00b,Ninja]"
 

Does that function have side effects? 8^)

Yes - glasses and a weird humor.


--
Viktor Klang
Senior Systems Analyst

That is what I'm wondering, I'll find out the fun way.

Ishaaq Chandy wrote:
>
> While, in theory you may not have to learn Java to write a Scala program,
> I
> suspect that, in practice you will need some rudimentary ability to
> understand Java in order to be able to learn about and use Java libraries
> within your Scala code - for e.g., as highlighted in a recent thread on
> this
> list - having to use the standard java file IO API.
>
> Ishaaq
>
> 2009/3/26 martin odersky
>
>> On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:40 AM, Randin wrote:
>> >
>> > I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman
>> (someone
>> > with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
>> > would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for
>> that
>> > matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to
>> learn
>> > Java first?
>> > --
>> If you have some previous programming experience (not necessarily in
>> Java), working through Programming in Scala should be quite doable. I
>> know someone who did that coming from VisualBasic, and he had no
>> problems. If you are an absolute beginner, there's nothing out there
>> yet for you, I am afraid.
>>
>> Ceers
>>
>> -- Martin
>>
>
>

I've done some research and made up my mind to learn Scala, I didn't feel
Python was for me. I've read where people said Scala has a bit of a learning
curve but it's the interesting things that take awhile to pick up... It
isn't the first time I've bitten off more than I can chew, and I like it
that way. thank you for your suggestion though, I appreciate it.

Russ P. wrote:
>
> On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 6:11 AM, Ishaaq Chandy wrote:
>
>> While, in theory you may not have to learn Java to write a Scala program,
>> I
>> suspect that, in practice you will need some rudimentary ability to
>> understand Java in order to be able to learn about and use Java libraries
>> within your Scala code - for e.g., as highlighted in a recent thread on
>> this
>> list - having to use the standard java file IO API.
>>
>> Ishaaq
>>
>> 2009/3/26 martin odersky
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:40 AM, Randin wrote:
>>> >
>>> > I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman
>>> (someone
>>> > with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated
>>> and
>>> > would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for
>>> that
>>> > matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to
>>> learn
>>> > Java first?
>>> > --
>>> If you have some previous programming experience (not necessarily in
>>> Java), working through Programming in Scala should be quite doable. I
>>> know someone who did that coming from VisualBasic, and he had no
>>> problems. If you are an absolute beginner, there's nothing out there
>>> yet for you, I am afraid.
>>>
>>
> If you are a beginner, or if you just want to tinker with programming as a
> hobby, you might consider trying Python. You'll be up and running much
> faster than you will with Scala. Don't get me wrong; Scala has many
> advantages over Python, but simplicity is not one of them.
>
> Russ P.
>
>

Maybe, but then you're biased towards Python by your experience - just as I am biased towards Java by mine. It would be interesting to see how a complete newbie that starts by learning a functional language then considers imperative programming - would he/she find the imperative style that is hard-wired into our brains quite complex and non-intuitive?

I wonder.

Ishaaq

2009/3/27 Russ Paielli <russ.paielli@gmail.com>

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 6:11 AM, Ishaaq Chandy <ishaaq@gmail.com> wrote:

While, in theory you may not have to learn Java to write a Scala program, I suspect that, in practice you will need some rudimentary ability to understand Java in order to be able to learn about and use Java libraries within your Scala code - for e.g., as highlighted in a recent thread on this list - having to use the standard java file IO API.

Ishaaq

2009/3/26 martin odersky <martin.odersky@epfl.ch>

On Thu, Mar 26, 2009 at 3:40 AM, Randin <randinn@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I was wondering if there is plans for teaching Scala to a layman (someone
> with no knowledge of Java). My coding skills are at best antiquated and
> would rather learn only the parts of Java that works with Scala. for that
> matter what happens to a kid who wants to learn Scala, do they need to learn
> Java first?
> --
If you have some previous programming experience (not necessarily in
Java), working through Programming in Scala should be quite doable. I
know someone who did that coming from VisualBasic, and he had no
problems. If you are an absolute beginner, there's nothing out there
yet for you, I am afraid.

If you are a beginner, or if you just want to tinker with programming as a hobby, you might consider trying Python. You'll be up and running much faster than you will with Scala. Don't get me wrong; Scala has many advantages over Python, but simplicity is not one of them.

Russ P.

Viktor Klang schrieb:
> > The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be:
> > "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"
>
> It's just syntactic sugar for: "Scala - Function1[n00b,Ninja]"

I think you got either your operator precedence or your semantics wrong.
The "-" should probably be a ":".

- Florian.

On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 8:47 AM, Florian Hars <hars@bik-gmbh.de> wrote:

Viktor Klang schrieb:
>     > The title of my book (when I get time to write it) will be:
>     > "Scala - (n00b) => Ninja"
>
> It's just syntactic sugar for: "Scala - Function1[n00b,Ninja]"

I think you got either your operator precedence or your semantics wrong.
The "-" should probably be a ":".

No, I htink it was more of a logic error, probably what would be more correct:

learn(scala : (n00b) => Ninja)

 

- Florian.

--
Viktor Klang
Senior Systems Analyst

> No, I htink it was more of a logic error, probably what would
> be more correct:
>
> learn(scala : (n00b) => Ninja)

... is the conversion from n00b to Ninja not implicit?
;o)

On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 1:34 PM, Detering Dirk <Dirk.Detering@bitmarck.de> wrote:

> No, I htink it was more of a logic error, probably what would
> be more correct:
>
> learn(scala : (n00b) => Ninja)

... is the conversion from n00b to Ninja not implicit?
 ;o)

Unfortunately not, you'll need the book as a functor to map the n00b-category to the Ninja-category

--
Viktor Klang
Senior Systems Analyst