Modern Web Development with Scala
Modern Web Development with Scala
A concise step-by-step guide to the Scala ecosystem
About the Book
In this book, you will learn how to build Web applications with Play Framework, access databases with ScalikeJDBC, perform asynchronous tasks with Scala Futures and Akka Actors, wire dependencies with MacWire, authenticate users with BCrypt, test your code with ScalaTest and ScalaMock.
The book shows how to use Gradle and SBT for building projects, how to integrate modern frontend tools such as Webpack and React into a Scala developer workflow. A chapter discussing application deployment and hosting considerations is also included.
The book doesn't expect any prior Scala experience as the basics are briefly explained in the first chapters. The required functional programming concepts are also explained in the beginning.
Who this book is for
This book is intended for people who are interested in learning and applying Scala to writing Web applications. It assumes a good knowledge of any programming language and familiarity with Web technologies.
Which versions are used
The main examples use Scala 2.13 and Play 2.8. When additional libraries are needed, their latest versions are used.
Acknowledgements
The cover illustration was designed by Freepik
Bundles that include this book
Reader Testimonials

Juan Salvador
A great source as a quick introduction to Play framework… It took me a day and a half to understand how Play Framework really works. Very practical and samples run well

Esteban Zacharzewski
Just wanted to thank you for writing Modern Web Development with Scala. I just finished it and it clarified for me many things about working with Play. It was truly a fantastic read. Fantastic content and I seldom found any typos
Table of Contents
- Preface
-
Before we begin
- Setting up your environment
- Installing Java Development Kit
- Installing Scala
- Using REPL
- Using IntelliJ IDEA
- Using Atom Editor
- Using Visual Studio Code
- Why use text editors?
-
Language fundamentals
- Defining values
- Functional types
- Type hierarchy
- Collections
- Packages and imports
- Defining classes
- Defining objects
- Type parametrization
- Collections syntax revisited
- Functions and implicits
- Implicits and companion objects
- Loops and conditionals
- String interpolation
- Traits
-
Functional programming
- Algebraic data types
- Pattern matching
- Case classes
- Higher-order functions
- for comprehensions
- Currying
- Laziness
- Option
- Try
- Future
-
Build tools
- Command line
- Gradle
- sbt
-
Working with Play
- The project template
- Play templates
- Using template parameters
- Serving asynchronous results
- Adding sunrise and sunset times
- Using Java 8 Date and Time API
- Adding weather information
- Moving logic into services
- Injecting dependencies with MacWire
- Managing application lifecycle
- Intercepting requests with filters
- Using Akka
-
Frontend integration
- Setting up nvm
- Choosing the versions
- package.json
- GruntJS and Gulp
- Module bundlers
- Using EcmaScript 6 with Babel
- Explaining React
- Separating the frontend
- Initializing the frontend project
- webpack.config.js explained
- Using React
- Sending data via JSON
- Using Sass with Webpack
- Extracting styles
-
Authenticating users
- Installing PostgreSQL
- Adding ScalikeJDBC
- Storing passwords
- Managing database evolutions
- Authentication roadmap
- The login page
- Implementing the authentication service
- Using Play Forms API
- Showing errors on the page
- Restricting access
- Testing with ScalaTest
-
Deployment
- Hosting considerations
- Preparing the distribution
- Closing remarks
- Appendix A. Packages
- Appendix B. Using IntelliJ IDEA
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