On: Making the move from Scala to Go

[tylerpachal]

Could you explain this a little bit? I am just getting into Scala, usually I use `sbt run` and `sbt test` while I am working, then `sbt dist` to package my production app. What does `sbt ~ compile` do ?

[joshlemer → tylerpachal]

If you run `~` before any command, sbt watches the directory for any source changes, and on detecting source changes, redoes the command. So `sbt ~compile` will re-compile any new sources as soon as they are saved.

[jpliska → joshlemer]

The use of the ~ here illustrates the problem in the scala world: a lot of surprising bells and whistles. Why not call it watch instead of ~?

[justinhj → jpliska]

Or just use IntelliJ and you can reload classes while your program is running if you want. Sbt is a very powerful tool but it's not written with readability for new users in mind.

[Sphax → joshlemer]

Wait, how does that help build time exactly ? It may help with the perceived build time, but your CI builds are still taking the same (long) time.

[floatboth → Sphax]

CI, sure, but on dev machines this means you're not throwing away the JVM and restarting it, reloading all the classes etc. on every build