Martin Odersky (@odersky) is the creator of Scala and I interviewed him to compare different languages designs (Rust vs Zig vs Python vs Scala) and how AI will impact programming languages.
In this episode:
• Comparing Rust, Zig, Python, and Scala designs
• Why its hard to ictions about how AI will impact software
• Why functional programming matters
Where to watch:
• YouTube - youtu.be/LdN4sPWM-WY
• Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/0EHxXl…
• Apple Podcasts - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…
• Transcript - developing.dev/p/creator-of-s…
Thank you to the sponsors of this episode for supporting my work:
• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at workos.com
• Jira by Atlassian: Get more work done with your favorite agents and models all in one place, check them out at jira.dev
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:44 Why care about functional programming
06:35 Why should people learn Scala
09:26 Rust vs Scala
12:42 Rust vs Zig
15:45 Scala vs Python
18:31 The programming languages that influenced him
22:16 How running on the JVM works
26:33 Why writing a compiler is hard
29:19 Why Twitter adopted Scala early on
31:00 How he believes AI will impact programming languages
43:40 Will there be less engineers in ten years
44:34 Top programming languages to learn to grow
46:18 Top technical book recommendation
46:51 Why he chose academia instead of industry
48:28 Reflecting on Scala
55:42 Advice for his younger self
56:33 Outro
In this episode:
• Comparing Rust, Zig, Python, and Scala designs
• Why its hard to ictions about how AI will impact software
• Why functional programming matters
Where to watch:
• YouTube - youtu.be/LdN4sPWM-WY
• Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/0EHxXl…
• Apple Podcasts - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…
• Transcript - developing.dev/p/creator-of-s…
Thank you to the sponsors of this episode for supporting my work:
• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at workos.com
• Jira by Atlassian: Get more work done with your favorite agents and models all in one place, check them out at jira.dev
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:44 Why care about functional programming
06:35 Why should people learn Scala
09:26 Rust vs Scala
12:42 Rust vs Zig
15:45 Scala vs Python
18:31 The programming languages that influenced him
22:16 How running on the JVM works
26:33 Why writing a compiler is hard
29:19 Why Twitter adopted Scala early on
31:00 How he believes AI will impact programming languages
43:40 Will there be less engineers in ten years
44:34 Top programming languages to learn to grow
46:18 Top technical book recommendation
46:51 Why he chose academia instead of industry
48:28 Reflecting on Scala
55:42 Advice for his younger self
56:33 Outro
Aug 31, 2026 · 1:00 PM UTC
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky The criticism of Rust that it's too hard is not good when agents write all the code, and they have no issues writing Rust
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky I still enjoy writing Scala.
At work we found a sweet spot for our Scala style that's really productive for us.
But we don't use any of the advanced libraries. Just the FP principles that Martin thought in his original Coursera.
Scala is just so elegant with these 👌
At work we found a sweet spot for our Scala style that's really productive for us.
But we don't use any of the advanced libraries. Just the FP principles that Martin thought in his original Coursera.
Scala is just so elegant with these 👌
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky I hate Scala at work, it is almost dead, but must fully die ASAP.
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky Martin Odersky likes Zig? A language where the founders mock the idea of using types?? omg it's just babies in all directions, better to let the bots take charge.
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky Wow, that is one of the best and most interesting interviews I've read in a long time, a very interesting, smart and wise man he is...lots of information I never knew about. Thanks for the post! 👍🏻
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky Impactful scholar, innovative language designer, but when taking advice, you have to remember that this man has never written a single line of business code under real world constraints in his whole life 😜
Undersigned, “senior” Scala developer 😜
Undersigned, “senior” Scala developer 😜
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky Great! Now let’s have Niko Matsakis next
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@ryanlpeterman @odersky Re: gap between python and scala closing
Two blockers:
- optional types vs required types
- pattern matching is a statement, not an expression
Two blockers:
- optional types vs required types
- pattern matching is a statement, not an expression
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