Scala is a popular programming language that is known for its versatility and scalability. It offers the best of both worlds, combining functional and object-oriented programming paradigms. One of the key advantages of Scala is its ability to seamlessly integrate with Java code, making it a top choice for developers working on projects with mixed codebases.
In this article, we will explore how to build a Scala app with Maven, while also incorporating Java code into the mix. Maven is a popular build automation tool that is widely used in Java development. It provides a simple and consistent way to manage project dependencies, build processes, and deployment.
Before diving into the details of building a Scala app with Maven, let's first understand why this combination is a great choice for developers. Scala, being a language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), is fully compatible with Java code. This means that Scala code can call Java methods and vice versa, making it easy for developers to use existing Java libraries in their Scala projects.
Now, let's get started with building our Scala app with Maven. The first step is to create a new Maven project. This can be done using your preferred IDE or by running the "mvn archetype:generate" command in the terminal. This will generate a basic Maven project structure with a pom.xml file, which is used to define project dependencies and configurations.
Next, we need to add the Scala dependencies to our project. This can be done by adding the following code to the pom.xml file:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.scala-lang</groupId>
<artifactId>scala-library</artifactId>
<version>{scala-version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.scala-lang</groupId>
<artifactId>scala-compiler</artifactId>
<version>{scala-version}</version>
</dependency>
Replace {scala-version} with the desired Scala version, for example, 2.12.4. Maven will automatically download these dependencies and make them available for our project.
Now, let's add our Java code to the project. We can do this by creating a new "src/main/java" folder and placing our Java classes inside it. Maven will automatically detect these classes and include them in the build process.
Next, we need to configure the Maven compiler to support both Scala and Java code. This can be done by adding the following plugin to the pom.xml file:
<plugin>
<groupId>net.alchim31.maven</groupId>
<artifactId>scala-maven-plugin</artifactId>
<version>{scala-maven-plugin-version}</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<goals>
<goal>compile</goal>
<goal>testCompile</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
<configuration>
<scalaVersion>{scala-version}</scalaVersion>
</configuration>
</plugin>
This will tell Maven to use the Scala compiler when compiling our project. Again, make sure to replace {scala-maven-plugin-version} and {scala-version} with the appropriate versions.
At this point, our project is ready to be built and run. We can use the "mvn compile" command to compile the code and "mvn exec:java" to run our Scala app. If everything goes well, we should see the output of our Scala code, along with any Java code that we have mixed
