ZDNet cites Scala as one of the most popular programming languages that can get you a job interview. One of the best similarities of Scala and Java is that you can code Scala the same way you code Java. However, calling the functions of one language in the code of the other can be a bit tricky as both Scala and Java have certain unique programming aspects. Yes, it may seem more complex to the Scala novice, but once you get a good understanding of the concepts behind it, Scala code will seem much simpler than Java code.
I somewhat agree with you that Java 8 will bring more parity with Scala and I could have compared Scala with Java 8, but agree with me that almost 80 percent of the projects are still on Java 1.6 and below. Before you start reading this post, if you really want to learn Scala from scratch you can check my previous post as well, which is one of them in this Scala series. Scala is a type-safe JVM language that incorporates both object-oriented and functional programming in an extremely concise, logical and extraordinarily powerful language. Scala is enough to give you a preliminary idea of Scala's power and capabilities and whets your appetite for learning the language.
Scala also has many functional programming facilities, including features found in advanced functional languages such as Haskell, and tries to be agnostic between the two paradigms, allowing the developer to choose between the two paradigms or, more often, some combination of them. Scala is a pure object-oriented programming language (in the sense that every value is an object) that provides the features of functional languages (in the sense that every function is a value) as well. As a result, there are certainly code distinctions and paradigm shifts that can make early learning of scala programming a bit more difficult, but the result is a much cleaner and well-organised language that is ultimately easier to use and increases productivity. Scala and Java are interoperable, which means that you can call Java functions directly within Scala code.
Overall, Scala and Java are two excellent programming languages with different strengths and limitations. In terms of programming paradigms, Scala inherits the object-oriented model from Java and extends it in several ways. Also, if you are well familiar with Java, C , C and Python, Scala would be the perfect choice to improve your programming skills and get better career opportunities at the same time. Scala Native is a Scala compiler that targets the LLVM compiler infrastructure to create executable code using a lightweight managed runtime, which uses the Boehm rubbish collector.