Scala uses monads extensively for many operations with non-trivial effects, such as those involving asynchronous computation, including I/O. The idea of direct style is to allow writing code with non-trivial effects more simply without the boilerplate of monads. I recommend viewing this Martin Odersky talk about the on-going work on…

One of the most significant, if controversial features in Scala 3 is optional braces, where significant indentation can be used instead of curly braces. However, there were a few syntax areas where braces were still required, such as passing anonymous functions and import statements. Scala 3.3 will remove the requirement…

Martin Odersky and the EPFL Scala Center continue experimenting with potential new features in Scala 3. Let’s explore one of them, erased definitions. This experimental feature is described in the documentation. Here, I’ll summarize its purpose, how it works, and provide an example of how it might be used. A…

I mentioned in What’s Changed Since Scala 3.0.0 that Scala 3.1 introduced an experimental feature for safer exceptions. Let’s explore it in more detail. Java’s checked exceptions were an attempt to express in method signatures the possibility that an exception might be thrown. While laudable in theory, in practice the…

I’m giving a talk at Scale by the Bay, October 28th, on Lessons Learned from 15 Years of Scala in the Wild. Programming Scala, Third Edition is now available. It provides a comprehensive introduction to Scala 3 for experienced Scala developers, as well as a complete introduction to Scala for…

The Scala team continues to refine Scala 3, fixing bugs, refining existing features, and introducing some experimental features for Scala 3.1. Here are a few highlights. Programming Scala, Third Edition is now available. It provides a comprehensive introduction to Scala 3 for experienced Scala developers, as well as a complete…

During my recent trip to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada, I tried out the inexpensive and compact Move Shoot Move star tracker. This isn’t a full review, just my initial impressions, as I didn’t have a lot of time to try it out (for reasons I’ll mention below). What Is a Star Tracker? Here is…

I spent a week in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada last month. I’ve posted my best pictures to Flickr. I just purchased the Syrp Genie Micro and several of their motion control devices. You can see the Micro below mounted in my camera’s hot shoe. The compatibility list says the…

Update May 22, 2022: Michel Charpentier correctly pointed out that the arguments don’t need to be by-name if they are inlined. This makes perfect sense if you think about it (which I didn’t 🤓), because we are no longer calling the invariant and fail functions; they are now gone, replaced…