One feature of Scala is it reuse Java's Exception class hierarchies, but much easier to use. For one thing, it treats Exception as "unchecked" just like RuntimeException, which I think one of the reason it causes Java to be unnecessary verbose. For example when opening a file stream, one way Java can do it is:

public void doFile(File file) throws FileNotFoundException, IOException {  
  FileInputStream fins = null;
try{
fins = new FileInputStream(file);
//process it.
}finally{
if(fins != null){ fins.close(); }
}
}

But in Scala equivalent can be done as follow:
def doFile(file: File): Unit = {  
  val fins = new FileInputStream(file)
try{
//process it.
}finally{
fins.close
}
}

In Scala, you don't need to predefine the "fins" to null then try it, and then check to close in finally block, because if FileInputStream failed, an FileNotFoundException instance will be thrown out of the method, before reaching to the try block. In addition, the Scala user of the doFile method do NOT need to invoke it inside a try/catch block, while Java requires it. This is possible because Exception, or any subclasses are "uncheck" as default in Scala. This mean that the exception will keep throw to next stack frame until it finds a "catcher". If none are found, it will exit main at the end.

Views: 41

Happy 10th year, JCertif!

Notes

Welcome to Codetown!

Codetown is a social network. It's got blogs, forums, groups, personal pages and more! You might think of Codetown as a funky camper van with lots of compartments for your stuff and a great multimedia system, too! Best of all, Codetown has room for all of your friends.

When you create a profile for yourself you get a personal page automatically. That's where you can be creative and do your own thing. People who want to get to know you will click on your name or picture and…
Continue

Created by Michael Levin Dec 18, 2008 at 6:56pm. Last updated by Michael Levin May 4, 2018.

Looking for Jobs or Staff?

Check out the Codetown Jobs group.

 

Enjoy the site? Support Codetown with your donation.



InfoQ Reading List

SwiftUI Adds New Document Protocol, Improves Performance, and More

Announced at WWDC 2026, the latest SwiftUI release brings a new Document protocol for efficient disk access and snapshot-based updates, along with improved APIs for reordering items in lists, grids, and sections. In addition, it expands presentation features, such as swipe actions on any view, better AsyncImage caching, and lazy state initialization for Observable types to boost performance.

By Sergio De Simone

Shifting Platform Development from Projects to Products

A company shifted from project- to product-thinking after their platform outgrew single-team use. The limitations that they felt with their platform were one-off deliveries, lack of product vision, and weak feedback loops. They have moved toward a self-service, API-driven, multi-tenant infrastructure with clearer ownership and better abstractions.

By Ben Linders

Apple Extends Private Cloud Compute to Google Cloud for the First Time

Apple chose Google Cloud to run Private Cloud Compute outside its own data centers for the first time, using NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, Intel TDX, and Google's Titan chip. Apple maintains an independent append-only hardware ledger and dual-vendor attestation roots. AWS and Azure are not part of the collaboration.

By Steef-Jan Wiggers

Presentation: Enhancing Reliability Using Service-Level Prioritized Load Shedding at Netflix

The speakers discuss Netflix’s architecture for surviving extreme traffic spikes. They explain the mechanics of prioritized load shedding embedded in their Envoy sidecar proxy, allowing user-initiated requests to steal capacity from non-critical traffic. They share automated platform strategies for continuous chaos load testing, config generation, and retry storm mitigation.

By Anirudh Mendiratta, Benjamin Fedorka

Instacart Scales Personalized Marketing via Configuration-Driven Multi-Tenant Platform

Instacart redesigned its personalized marketing system using a configuration-driven multi-tenant architecture on Storefront Pro. The system replaces retailer-specific implementations with a shared execution engine, enabling scalable personalization, faster configuration propagation in under a minute, and 99.9% delivery success across hundreds of retail banners through a unified campaign platform.

By Leela Kumili

© 2026   Created by Michael Levin.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service