Scala14 min read
Scala collections in practice
How to choose and transform immutable Scala collections, avoid accidental work, and recognise the performance and semantic differences between List, Vector, Set, Map, View and Iterator.
Read articleInsights
Knowledge and insights.
Technical articles on languages, databases, serverless platforms and the awkward realities of keeping systems moving.
Showing 10–18 of 49 articles
Scala12 min read
Recursion and tail recursion in Scala
How recursive Scala functions use the call stack, how @tailrec makes constant-stack loops possible, and when folds or explicit work queues are the clearer design.
Read articleFunctional Scala11 min read
.map and .flatMap in Scala: follow the types
A type-led guide to transforming and sequencing Option, Either, collections, Future and IO, including for-comprehension translation and common nesting mistakes.
Read articleScala type system14 min read
Implicits and context bounds in Scala
How implicit parameters, implicit scope and context bounds work in Scala 2.13, how Scala 3 expresses the same ideas, and where invisible dependencies become a maintenance problem.
Read articleFunctional Scala15 min read
Category theory in practical Scala: useful vocabulary, not the goal
How category-theoretic ideas influence map, flatMap, typeclasses and effect libraries—and how to use that vocabulary without turning application code into an abstraction exercise.
Read articleFunctional Scala15 min read
Tagless-final in Scala: capabilities without the ceremony
A practical account of tagless-final programs, effect capabilities, interpreters and testability—including when a concrete IO or Future service is the better design.
Read articleTesting13 min read
When Scala tests mock too much
Why interaction-heavy unit tests become coupled to implementation, how to recognise the damage, and how state, stubs, fakes, contract tests and integration tests restore useful confidence.
Read articleTesting strategy17 min read
Unit and integration testing: choose the boundary that proves the behaviour
How unit and integration tests provide different evidence, where mocks and real adapters belong, and how to build a suite that stays fast without testing away production risk.
Read articleBrowser automation16 min read
End-to-end browser testing that earns its cost
A practical approach to selecting valuable browser journeys, writing stable Selenium tests, controlling data and authentication, and turning failures into useful delivery evidence.
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