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Scala’s biggest problem isn’t adoption any more, it’s unmaintainable code. The core of maintainable code is clean code with good tests, but that by itself is not enough. During this talk, you will learn a range of techniques for writing and improving code for maintainability, including how to get better at naming, explaining code with tests, the few code comments you actually need, README-driven development and how to write Minimum Viable Documentation.

You will explore how to combine a number of techniques which you have already encountered separately, plus at least one technique you have never heard of and can use immediately. Naming and abstraction are too hard to get right every single time, so you need to know when to add small doses of comments and documentation. More importantly, you need to know how to avoid wasting time on bad comments and unnecessary documentation without giving up entirely and not having any at all.

After the excitement of early adoption, and the joy of coding among experts comes the horror of your first Scala maintenance project. As Jean-Paul Sartre said*, ‘Hell is other people’s code’. Whether you are a new Scala developer or an experienced team lead, your future developer experience and happiness depends on maintainable code.

The Call for Papers is now open for Scala eXchange 2017! Submit your talk for the chance to join a stellar line-up of experts on stage. Find out more.

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