I really like scala a lot - it's a joy to write fast, succinct code with just a pinch of magic, but I have to strongly agree with all but the first critique. Scala has the underpinnings of an absolutely incredible language (fast, expressive, jvm compatible being the highlights), but the surface implementation leaves a lot to be desired.<p>Basically, scala is desperately in need of a "Scala: The Good Parts" book.<p>On a side note, using scala has really served to increase my respect for many of the apache java libraries. They're horrible to use from java, but really top notch when you have access to a higher level programming environment.