Scala class decleration - class

I have used Scala but I worked with objects but now I have to use classes. I am creating a scala class in a package, however, when I try to run it, it asks me to choose between Scala Applet or Scala Application and none of them work. Anybody has an idea on how to fix this problem? And do you declare a main method inside a class (like in objects) ?

For running your application you need to have App extended object or an object with main method.
It is nice that you are using classes. But the entry point of your code must be an object with main method or ( App extended )
So use your classes to build the application but start your application from an object.

case class Test(val x: Int);
object Main extends App {
override def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
val x = Test(5);
println("this is the main method");
println(x);
}
}
In the JVM world, the main method in the entry point to an application.
In general, the main method is where you start your various components, the threads/executors that run them etc.

Related

When and why does Scala code needs to be on a method called main inside an object?

I realized that when I code some script in scala and compile and run it from the terminal, I need to put it on a main method inside a object. But when a run it inside Intellij IDEA that's not needed. Why is that? Why do some people extend App on the global object?
In Scala there are two ways to create a runnable main class.
One is using the main method in an object:
object HelloWorld {
def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
println("Hello, world!")
}
}
A slightly shorter version is extending the App trait and writing the code directly into the object body:
object HelloWorld extends App {
println("Hello, world!")
}
Both of these work irrespective of whether you're using IntelliJ.
See also: https://www.scala-lang.org/documentation/your-first-lines-of-scala.html

Intellij Scala- unable to find Scala App

I just set up Scala in Intellij(along with SDK and JDK)
File -> Project -> Scala -> Scala
Created a project.
under project name src --> right click --> I can see 1.Scala Class , 2.Scala Worksheet , 3.Scala Script , But the Scala application or App option is not coming .
what am i doing wrong here. Please help
Just like in Java you should create a class, that has main method, that can be found by java machine and get run. The searched method has signature
In java:
public static void main(String[] args){
//your code goes here
}
In scala:
def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
//your code goes here
}
Also in scala you can extend from App(scala.App, all names from package scala._ are imported by default):
object Main extends App{
//your code goes here
}
That moves your code into automatically created function def main(args: Array[String]): Unit. This option is "faster", but limited in some functionality.
So, click "Scala class", pick object, add "extends App" clause or write "def main ..."
You need to have a main method in some object to make it "runnable":
object test extends App {
println("Hi");
}
or
object test {
def main(args:Array[String]):Unit = println("Hi");
}
Extending App creates a main method under the hood for you, but messes with initialization.

How do I give global access to an object in Scala without making it a singleton or passing it to everything?

I have a Logger class that logs events in my application. While I only need one instance of the logger in this application, I want this class to be reusable, so I don't want to make it a singleton and couple it with my specific needs for this application.
I want to be able to access this Logger instance from anywhere in the application without having to create a new one every time or pass it around to every class that might need to log something. What I currently do is have an ApplicationUtils singleton that I use as the point of access for the application's Logger:
object ApplicationUtils {
lazy val log : Logger = new Logger()
}
Then I have a Loggable trait that I add to classes that need the Logger:
trait Loggable {
protected[this] lazy val log = ApplicationUtils.log
}
Is this a valid approach for what I am trying to accomplish? It feels a little hack-y. Is there a better approach I could be using? I'm pretty new to Scala.
Be careful when putting functionality in objects. That functionality is easily testable, but if you need to test clients of that code to make sure they interact with it correctly (via mocks and spies), you're stuck 'cause objects compile to final classes and thus cannot be mocked.
Instead, use this pattern:
trait T { /* code goes here */ }
object T extends T /* pass this to client code from main sources */
Now you can create Mockito mocks / spies for trait T in your test code, pass that in and confirm that the interactions of the code under test with the trait T code are what they should be.
If you have code that's a client of T and whose interactions with it don't require testing, you can directly reference object T.
To address what you're trying to do (rather than what you're asking), take a look at TypeSafe's scalalogging package. It provides a Logging trait that you can use like so:
class MyClass extends Logging {
logger.debug("This is very convenient ;-)")
}
It's a macro-based wrapper for SLF4J, so something like logger.debug(...) gets compiled as if (logger.isDebugEnabled) logger.debug(...).

Scala object struggles with Java Class.newInstance()

UPDATE:
I have somewhat resolved the issue. Just in case if anyone runs in the same problem, here is the simplest solution: Looking at the MTApplcation source code, I have discovered that the initialize() method can be overloaded, taking a String parameter for the name of the class to instantiate. So if I create a separate class that extends MTApplication and pass it's name there, everything works correctly.
END OF UPDATE
I have a situation in Scala while trying to use a java library (MT4j, which is based on Processing). The library wants to instantiate the main class of the app (the caller-class):
Class<?> c = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader().loadClass(name);
applet = (PApplet) c.newInstance();
So as to refer it later in it's works.
However, it fails because, I guess, the main Scala class is not a class, but an object and due to library structure, it is necessary to call a static method initialize() of the main library class MTApplication. In Java static fields are located in classes, but in Scala - in objects. So it is impossible to instantiate an object and the library fails. In contrast to MT4j, Processing itself makes no calls to static methods on startup and successfully passes that phase.
If I just create a companion class, everything works fine except that the companion class does not get its fields initialized because the static initialize() method is called in companion object, the class instance just gets dead-born and the library becomes unusable.
At least that is how I understand this problem.
I get this error:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.IllegalAccessException: Class processing.core.PApplet can not access a member of class main.Main$ with modifiers "private"
at processing.core.PApplet.runSketch(PApplet.java:9103)
at processing.core.PApplet.main(PApplet.java:9292)
at org.mt4j.MTApplication.initialize(MTApplication.java:311)
at org.mt4j.MTApplication.initialize(MTApplication.java:263)
at org.mt4j.MTApplication.initialize(MTApplication.java:254)
at main.Main$.main(Main.scala:26)
at main.Main.main(Main.scala)
It is hard for me to explain also because I do not fully understand what is going on here. But anyone who has these libs can reproduce the situation in a couple of minutes, trying to launch the main class.
The abstract startUp() method which should be implemented to start the app, makes everything look even more sad. It initializes the object, but what the library tries to work with is an instance of the companion class which does not get initialized because in Scala the method belongs to the object.
My code:
object Main extends MTApplication {
def main(args: Array[String]) {
MTApplication.initialize()
new Main().startUp()
}
//this method is abstarct so it MUST be implemented,
override def startUp(){
}
}
class Main extends MTApplication {
override def startUp(){
//startup here
}
}
I am sorry if my explanations are vague, I just do not get it all completely. Probably to understand it is easier to repeat the experiment with MT4j library with Processing source code instead of the pre-linked 'core.jar' there to see what is happening inside. Doeas anyone have ideas on any workaround here?
Problem solved. Here is the solution:
object Main {
var current: MainC = _
def main(args: Array[String]) {
MTApplication.initialize("org.mttablescreen.main.MainC")
}
}
class MainC extends MTApplication {
//cons
Main.current = this
//cons ends
override def startUp(){
prepare
}
def prepare () {...}
}

How to make a Scala Applet whose Applet class is a singleton?

I don't know if a solution exists but it would be highly desirable.
I'm making a Scala Applet, and I want the main Applet class to be a singleton so it can be accessed elsewhere in the applet, sort of like:
object App extends Applet {
def init {
// do init here
}
}
Instead I have to make the App class a normal instantiatable class otherwise it complains because the contructor is private. So the ugly hack I have is to go:
object A {
var pp: App = null
}
class App extends Applet {
A.pp = this
def init {
// do init here
}
}
I really hate this, and is one of the reasons I don't like making applets in Scala right now.
Any better solution? It would be nice...
edit -- I found a pretty decent hack solution using implicit conversion. Declare your Applet class as a normal class, and then add:
class Appable {}
object App extends Appable {
implicit def appable2App(a:Appable) = inst
var inst: App = null
}
Then just set the instance variable when the Applet is created, and you can access everything as if it were a singleton.
What you're asking for is counter to the applet execution model. Specifically, there are no guarantees that you won't have multiple copies of the applet running in the same JVM. The default is to run every applet in the same JVM (including multiple copies of the same applet if necessary). See e.g. Sun's tutorial.
That's why applets are specified the way that they are instead of with a static public void method. Can't the rest of your code take the applet as a parameter?