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diff --git a/02-preface.md b/02-preface.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..11f14d2076 --- /dev/null +++ b/02-preface.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +Preface +------- + +Scala is a Java-like programming language which unifies +object-oriented and functional programming. It is a pure +object-oriented language in the sense that every value is an +object. Types and behavior of objects are described by +classes. Classes can be composed using mixin composition. Scala is +designed to work seamlessly with two less pure but mainstream +object-oriented languages -- Java and C#. + +Scala is a functional language in the sense that every function is a +value. Nesting of function definitions and higher-order functions are +naturally supported. Scala also supports a general notion of pattern +matching which can model the algebraic types used in many functional +languages. + +Scala has been designed to interoperate seamlessly with Java (an +alternative implementation of Scala also works for .NET). Scala +classes can call Java methods, create Java objects, inherit from Java +classes and implement Java interfaces. None of this requires interface +definitions or glue code. + +Scala has been developed from 2001 in the programming methods +laboratory at EPFL. Version 1.0 was released in November 2003. This +document describes the second version of the language, which was +released in March 2006. It acts a reference for the language +definition and some core library modules. It is not intended to teach +Scala or its concepts; for this there are other documents +[@scala-overview-tech-report; +@odersky:scala-experiment; +@odersky:sca; +@odersky-et-al:ecoop03; +@odersky-zenger:fool12] + +Scala has been a collective effort of many people. The design and the +implementation of version 1.0 was completed by Philippe Altherr, +Vincent Cremet, Gilles Dubochet, Burak Emir, Stéphane Micheloud, +Nikolay Mihaylov, Michel Schinz, Erik Stenman, Matthias Zenger, and +the author. Iulian Dragos, Gilles Dubochet, Philipp Haller, Sean +McDirmid, Lex Spoon, and Geoffrey Washburn joined in the effort to +develop the second version of the language and tools. Gilad Bracha, +Craig Chambers, Erik Ernst, Matthias Felleisen, Shriram Krishnamurti, +Gary Leavens, Sebastian Maneth, Erik Meijer, Klaus Ostermann, Didier +Rémy, Mads Torgersen, and Philip Wadler have shaped the design of +the language through lively and inspiring discussions and comments on +previous versions of this document. The contributors to the Scala +mailing list have also given very useful feedback that helped us +improve the language and its tools. + |