SBT vs Scala

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

SBT

164
117
+ 1
11
Scala

11.7K
7.6K
+ 1
1.5K
Add tool

SBT vs Scala: What are the differences?

  1. Compilation: One key difference between SBT and Scala is that SBT is a build tool used specifically for compiling and managing Scala projects, while Scala is the programming language itself.
  2. Dependency Management: SBT provides comprehensive dependency management functionality for Scala projects, allowing easy integration of external libraries, whereas Scala language itself does not have built-in dependency management capabilities.
  3. Build Configuration: SBT uses a configuration file named build.sbt to define project settings, dependencies, and tasks, while Scala does not require a separate build configuration file as it is an independent programming language.
  4. Task Execution: SBT allows developers to define and execute custom tasks within the build process, providing flexibility in automating various build steps, whereas Scala focuses on defining the logic of the application without directly managing build tasks.
  5. Incremental Compilation: SBT offers incremental compilation, which speeds up the build process by recompiling only the modified source files, leading to faster development iterations, whereas Scala as a language does not inherently provide features related to incremental compilation.
  6. Project Structure: SBT enforces a specific project structure convention for Scala projects, organizing source code, resources, and tests in predefined directories, while Scala, being a language, does not impose any particular project structure on developers.

In Summary, SBT is a build tool tailored for Scala projects, offering features such as dependency management, task execution, and incremental compilation, distinct from the Scala programming language itself.

Advice on SBT and Scala
Needs advice
on
GolangGolangNode.jsNode.js
and
ScalaScala

Finding the best server-side tool for building a personal information organizer that focuses on performance, simplicity, and scalability.

performance and scalability get a prototype going fast by keeping codebase simple find hosting that is affordable and scales well (Java/Scala-based ones might not be affordable)

See more
Replies (1)
David Annez
VP Product at loveholidays · | 5 upvotes · 288.1K views
Recommends
on
Node.jsNode.js
at

I've picked Node.js here but honestly it's a toss up between that and Go around this. It really depends on your background and skillset around "get something going fast" for one of these languages. Based on not knowing that I've suggested Node because it can be easier to prototype quickly and built right is performant enough. The scaffolding provided around Node.js services (Koa, Restify, NestJS) means you can get up and running pretty easily. It's important to note that the tooling surrounding this is good also, such as tracing, metrics et al (important when you're building production ready services).

You'll get more scalability and perf from go, but balancing them out I would say that you'll get pretty far with a well built Node.JS service (our entire site with over 1.5k requests/m scales easily and holds it's own with 4 pods in production.

Without knowing the scale you are building for and the systems you are using around it it's hard to say for certain this is the right route.

See more
Decisions about SBT and Scala

We needed to incorporate Big Data Framework for data stream analysis, specifically Apache Spark / Apache Storm. The three options of languages were most suitable for the job - Python, Java, Scala.

The winner was Python for the top of the class, high-performance data analysis libraries (NumPy, Pandas) written in C, quick learning curve, quick prototyping allowance, and a great connection with other future tools for machine learning as Tensorflow.

The whole code was shorter & more readable which made it easier to develop and maintain.

See more
Get Advice from developers at your company using StackShare Enterprise. Sign up for StackShare Enterprise.
Learn More
Pros of SBT
Pros of Scala
  • 1
    Support for publishing artifacts in Maven, Ivy formats
  • 1
    Works across Windows, Linux and MacOS
  • 1
    Support for Zinc and BSP
  • 1
    No Breaking Changes
  • 1
    Best for Mono-Repo and Multi-Project builds
  • 1
    Preference option to build Mix Scala-Java Projects
  • 1
    IntelliJ support
  • 1
    Continuous compilation
  • 1
    Flexible
  • 1
    Dependency manageemnt
  • 1
    Incremental Builds
  • 187
    Static typing
  • 178
    Pattern-matching
  • 177
    Jvm
  • 172
    Scala is fun
  • 138
    Types
  • 95
    Concurrency
  • 88
    Actor library
  • 86
    Solve functional problems
  • 81
    Open source
  • 80
    Solve concurrency in a safer way
  • 44
    Functional
  • 24
    Fast
  • 23
    Generics
  • 18
    It makes me a better engineer
  • 17
    Syntactic sugar
  • 13
    Scalable
  • 10
    First-class functions
  • 10
    Type safety
  • 9
    Interactive REPL
  • 8
    Expressive
  • 7
    SBT
  • 6
    Case classes
  • 6
    Implicit parameters
  • 4
    Rapid and Safe Development using Functional Programming
  • 4
    JVM, OOP and Functional programming, and static typing
  • 4
    Object-oriented
  • 4
    Used by Twitter
  • 3
    Functional Proframming
  • 2
    Spark
  • 2
    Beautiful Code
  • 2
    Safety
  • 2
    Growing Community
  • 1
    DSL
  • 1
    Rich Static Types System and great Concurrency support
  • 1
    Naturally enforce high code quality
  • 1
    Akka Streams
  • 1
    Akka
  • 1
    Reactive Streams
  • 1
    Easy embedded DSLs
  • 1
    Mill build tool
  • 0
    Freedom to choose the right tools for a job

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of SBT
Cons of Scala
  • 1
    Learning Curve is a bit steep
  • 11
    Slow compilation time
  • 7
    Multiple ropes and styles to hang your self
  • 6
    Too few developers available
  • 4
    Complicated subtyping
  • 2
    My coworkers using scala are racist against other stuff

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

- No public GitHub repository available -

What is SBT?

It is similar to Java's Maven and Ant. Its main features are: Native support for compiling Scala code and integrating with many Scala test frameworks.

What is Scala?

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

What companies use SBT?
What companies use Scala?
See which teams inside your own company are using SBT or Scala.
Sign up for StackShare EnterpriseLearn More

Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

What tools integrate with SBT?
What tools integrate with Scala?

Sign up to get full access to all the tool integrationsMake informed product decisions

Blog Posts

Aug 28 2019 at 3:10AM

Segment

PythonJavaAmazon S3+16
7
2551
DockerAmazon EC2Scala+8
6
2705
What are some alternatives to SBT and Scala?
Gradle
Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. If you are building, testing, publishing, and deploying software on any platform, Gradle offers a flexible model that can support the entire development lifecycle from compiling and packaging code to publishing web sites.
C lang
Apache Maven
Maven allows a project to build using its project object model (POM) and a set of plugins that are shared by all projects using Maven, providing a uniform build system. Once you familiarize yourself with how one Maven project builds you automatically know how all Maven projects build saving you immense amounts of time when trying to navigate many projects.
Bazel
Bazel is a build tool that builds code quickly and reliably. It is used to build the majority of Google's software, and thus it has been designed to handle build problems present in Google's development environment.
Mill
It is your shiny new Java/Scala build tool. It aims for simplicity by re-using concepts you are already familiar with, borrowing ideas from modern tools like Bazel, to let you build your projects in a way that's simple, fast, and predictable.
See all alternatives