Scala package object vs Predef - scala

What's the difference between something being defined in the scala package object and in Predef?
Is Predef just a relic from pre-2.8 when package objects didn't exist, or is there some other reason why we need both?

According to the ScalaDoc,
"The Predef object provides definitions that are accessible in all
Scala compilation units without explicit qualification"
So, it is not a package object itself, but acts as one in terms of providing functionality to "all Scala compilation units"
As for why the situation exists, I think you are right, looks to be a legacy issue
As for why it persists, there may continue to be limitations of package objects that prevent PreDef from being merged.

Related

How to generate top-level class/object with scala macro

As we know, it is easy to create an inner class in some methods with scala macro.
But I'd like to know is it possible to generate a top level class/object?
If the answer is yes, then how to avoid generate the same class twice?
my scala version is 2.11
Top-level expansions must retain the number of annottees, their flavors and their names, with the only exception that a class might expand into a same-named class plus a same-named module, in which case they automatically become companions as per previous rule.
https://docs.scala-lang.org/overviews/macros/annotations.html
So you can transform top-level
#annot
class A
into
class A
object A
or
#annot
object A
into
class A
object A
Also there existed c.introduceTopLevel but it was removed.
Context.introduceTopLevel. The Context.introduceTopLevel API, which used to be available in early milestone builds of Scala 2.11.0 as a stepping stone towards type macros, was removed from the final release, because type macros were rejected for including in Scala and discontinued in macro paradise.
https://docs.scala-lang.org/overviews/macros/changelog211.html
Scala Macro: Define Top Level Object
introduceTopLevel has provided a long-requested functionality of generating definitions that can be used outside macro expansions. However, metaprogrammers have
quickly discovered that introduceTopLevel is dangerous. Top-level scope is a resource shared between the typechecker and user metaprograms, so mutating it with
introduceTopLevel can lead to compilation order problems. For example, if one file
in a compilation run relies on definitions created by a macro expansion performed in
another file, compiling the former before the latter may lead to unexpected compilation
errors.
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/226166/files/EPFL_TH7159.pdf (section 5.2.3 Conclusion)
If the companion you want to generate already exists then the companion you return in macro annotation's macroTransform will replace the original. You don't need to beware that there will be two "companions", compiler will watch that. But surely normally you match if that's the case (whether there is only annottee or annottee + companion).

can`t bind[SttpBackend[Try, Nothing]]

I want to use sttp library with guice(with scalaguice wrapper) in my app. But seems it is not so easy to correctly bind things like SttpBackend[Try, Nothing]
SttpBackend.scala
Try[_] and Try[AnyRef] show some other errors, but still have no idea how it should be done correctly
the error I got:
kinds of the type arguments (scala.util.Try) do not conform to the expected kinds of the type parameters (type T).
[error] scala.util.Try's type parameters do not match type T's expected parameters:
[error] class Try has one type parameter, but type T has none
[error] bind[SttpBackend[Try, Nothing]].toProvider[SttpBackendProvider]
[error] ` ^
SttpBackendProvider looks like:
def get: SttpBackend[Try, Nothing] = TryHttpURLConnectionBackend(opts)
complete example in scastie
interesting that version scalaguice 4.1.0 show this error, but latest 4.2.2 shows error inside it with converting Nothing to JavaType
I believe you hit two different bugs in the Scala-Guice one of which is not fixed yet (and probably even not submitted yet).
To describe those issues I need a fast intro into how Guice and Scala-Guice work. Essentially what Guice do is have a mapping from type onto the factory method for an object of that type. To support some advanced features types are mapped onto some internal "keys" representation and then for each "key" Guice builds a way to construct a corresponding object. Also it is important that generics in Java are implemented using type erasure. That's why when you write something like:
bind(classOf[SttpBackend[Try, Nothing]]).toProvider(classOf[SttpBackendProvider])
in raw-Guice, the "key" actually becomes something like "com.softwaremill.sttp.SttpBackend". Luckily Guice developers have thought about this issue with generics and introduced TypeLiteral[T] so you can convey the information about generics.
Scala type system is more reach than in Java and it has some better reflection support from the compiler. Scala-Guice exploits it to map Scala-types on those more detailed keys automatically. Unfortunately it doesn't always work perfectly.
The first issue is the result of the facts that the type SttpBackend is defined as
trait SttpBackend[R[_], -S]
so it uses it expects its first parameter to be a type constructor; and that originally Scala-Guice used the scala.reflect.Manifest infrastructure. AFAIU such higher-kind types are not representable as Manifest and this is what the error in your question really says.
Luckily Scala has added a new scala.reflect.runtime.universe.TypeTag infrastructure to tackle this issue in a better and more consistent way and the Scala-Guice migrated to its usage. That's why with the newer version of Scala-Guice the compiler error goes away. Unfortunately there is another bug in the Scala-Guice that makes the code fail in runtime and it is a lack of handling of the Nothing Scala type. You see, the Nothing type is a kind of fake one on the JVM. It is one of the things where the Scala type system is more reach than the Java one. There is no direct mapping for Nothing in the JVM world. Luckily there is no way to create any value of the type Nothing. Unfortunately you still can create a classOf[Nothing]. The Scala-to-JVM compiler handles it by using an artificial scala.runtime.Nothing$. It is not a part of the public API, it is implementation details of specifically Scala over JVM. Anyway this means that the Nothing type needs additional handling when converting into the Guice TypeLiteral and there is none. There is for Any the cousin of Nothing but not for Nothing (see the usage of the anyType in TypeConversions.scala).
So there are really two workarounds:
Use raw Java-based syntax for Guice instead of the nice Scala-Guice one:
bind(new TypeLiteral[SttpBackend[Try, Nothing]]() {})
.toInstance(sttpBackend) // or to whatever
See online demo based on your example.
Patch the TypeConversions.scala in the Scala-Guice as in:
private[scalaguice] object TypeConversions {
private val mirror = runtimeMirror(getClass.getClassLoader)
private val anyType = typeOf[Any]
private val nothingType = typeOf[Nothing] // added
...
def scalaTypeToJavaType(scalaType: ScalaType): JavaType = {
scalaType.dealias match {
case `anyType` => classOf[java.lang.Object]
case `nothingType` => classOf[scala.runtime.Nothing$] //added
...
I tried it locally and it seems to fix your example. I didn't do any extensive tests so it might have broken something else.

How is Predef in Scala inherited?

Comment in the source for the Predef states:
The Predef object provides definitions that are accessible in all
Scala compilation units without explicit qualification.
How is Predefs inherited in Scala?
The compiler implicitly adds import _root_.scala.Predef._ to every source file.

Which implicit conversions in Scala are present as default when nothing is imported

Which implicits are present by default in Scala?
I know of RichString, Regex and some others I use.
But is there a list of them all?
Where are they implemented ? SourceFiles?
Is there a way to get a list of all possible implicit conversions for the current state of imports ?
The automatically imported members are:
The members of the java.lang package
The members of the scala package
The members of the Predef object
See The scala specification ยง9.1
Given that only objects (and package objects) can contain methods or values, the only place where standard (with no additional import) implicit values can be found is in Predef (the scala package does not seem to have a corresponding package object at the moment).
I believe all scala default imports are located in scala.Predef, including implicits.
Everything declared in Predef is imported automatically including implicits.
Check Predef at http://www.scala-lang.org/api/2.10.3/index.html#scala.Predef.
There you can see a list of value members. You should look for items starting with implicit def.

Why does Array.fill take an implicit scala.reflect.ClassManifest?

So I'm playing with writing a battlecode player in Scala. In battlecode certain classes are disallowed and there is a runtime exception if you ever try to access them. When I use the Array.fill function I get a message from the battlecode server saying [java] Illegal class: scala/reflect/Manifest$. This is the offending line:
val g_score = Array.fill[Int](rc.getMapWidth(), rc.getMapHeight())(0)
The method takes an implicit ClassManifest argument which has the following documentation:
A ClassManifest[T] is an opaque descriptor for type T. It is used by the compiler
to preserve information necessary for instantiating Arrays in those cases where
the element type is unknown at compile time.
But I do know the type of the array elements at compile time, as shown above I explicitly state that they will be Int. Is there a way to avoid this? To workaround I've written my own version of Array.fill. This seems like a hack. As an aside, does Scala have real 2D arrays? Array.fill seems to return an Array[Array[T]] which is the only way I found to write my own. This also seems inelegant.
Edit: Using Scala 2.9.1
For background information, see this related question: What is a Manifest in Scala and when do you need it?. In this answer, you will find an explanation why manifests are needed for arrays.
In short: Although the JVM uses type erasure, arrays are an exception and need a manifest. Since you could compile your code, that manifest was found (manifests are always available for proper types). Your error occurs at runtime.
I don't know the details of the battlecode server, but there are two possibilities: Either you are running your compiled classes with a binary incompatible version of Scala (difference in major version, e.g. compiled with Scala 2.9 and server uses 2.10). Or the server doesn't even have the scala-library.jar on its class path.
As said in the comment, manifests are deprecated in Scala 2.10 and replaced by ClassTag.
EDIT: So it seems the class loader is artificially restricting the allowed classes. My suggestion would be: Add a helper Java class. You can easily mix Java and Scala code. If it's just about the Int-Array instantiation, you could provide something like:
public static class Helper {
public static int[][] makeArray(int d1, int d2) { return new int[d1][d2](); }
}
(hope that's valid java code, a bit rusty)
Also, have you tried to create the outer array with new Array[Array[Int]](d1), and then iterate to create the inner arrays?