2020 Hindsight Scala — Good Practices

Apply these practices when writing new Scala code or refactoring existing Scala code. Reference: https://2020-hindsight-scala.kevinly.dev/docs/

For detailed rules and examples for each practice, read references/practices.md in this skill directory.

Quick Reference — The Rules

1. ADT: Place Data in Companion Objects

Put ADT case classes/objects inside the sealed trait's companion object to avoid naming conflicts and provide a clear namespace. For Scala 3, use enum instead of sealed trait with case class / case object in a companion object.

2. ADT: Use Constructor Methods

Define constructor methods in the companion object that return the sealed trait type — not the case class type. This fixes type inference issues (e.g. List[Product with MyTrait with Serializable] instead of List[MyTrait]).

3. Type-safe Equality

Use === / !== (from Cats Eq or a custom extension) instead of == / !=. Scala's universal equality is not type-safe — "a" == 1 compiles but is always false.

4. Option: Use .some / none[A]

Use 1.some and none[Int] (from Cats) instead of Some(1) and None. Direct Some() produces Some[Int] not Option[Int], causing type inference issues in collections and generic contexts (invariant type parameters). For conditional Option creation (Scala 2.13+), use Option.when(condition)(value) instead of if (condition) value.some else none. Testing exception: In test code, Some(value) and None are allowed on the expected side of assertions (e.g. actual ==== Some(expectedValue), actual ==== None) because these express exactly what is expected.

5. Option: Never Use .get

Option.get throws NoSuchElementException on None. Use pattern matching, fold, getOrElse, map, or flatMap instead.

6. Either: Use .asRight / .asLeft

Use 1.asRight[String] and "error".asLeft[Int] (Cats) instead of Right() / Left(). Direct constructors produce Right[Nothing, Int] / Left[String, Nothing], causing type inference problems. For conditional Either creation, use Either.cond(condition, rightValue, leftValue) instead of if (condition) rightValue.asRight else leftValue.asLeft. Testing exception: In test code, Right(value) and Left(value) are allowed on the expected side of assertions (e.g. actual ==== Right(expectedValue), actual ==== Left(expectedError)) because these express exactly what is expected.

7. More Types: Avoid Stringly-Typed Code

Wrap primitive types in value classes (extends AnyVal), newtypes (@newtype / @newsubtype), opaque types (Scala 3), or refined4s. This catches argument-ordering bugs at compile time and makes code self-documenting.

8. More Types: Use ADTs Instead of Boolean

Replace Boolean fields with sealed trait ADTs when the meaning of true/false is ambiguous. For example, use AccountStatus.Enabled / AccountStatus.Disabled instead of enabled: Boolean.

9. Error Handling: Total Functions over Partial Functions

Never throw exceptions from pure functions. Use Option for single-failure lookups and Either (with an ADT error type on the Left) for multiple failure cases. This makes failure modes explicit in the type signature.

10. Always final case class

Always declare case classes as final. Non-final case classes can be extended by regular classes, breaking equals, hashCode, toString, and pattern matching. Exceptions: @newtype annotations (not real case classes) and case object (already implicitly final).

11. For-Comprehension

Use for-comprehension instead of nested flatMap/map chains for readability. But avoid for-comprehension with a single generator — just use map or flatMap directly, as the for-comprehension adds no readability benefit.

12. Formatting: Follow .scalafmt.conf

If a .scalafmt.conf file exists in the project, follow its formatting rules when writing or modifying code.

13. Follow .scalafix.conf Rules

If a .scalafix.conf file exists in the project, follow its rules when writing or modifying code.

14. Scala 3: Use Brace Syntax, Not Significant Indentation

For Scala 3 code, always use brace syntax instead of significant indentation (braceless) syntax. Exception: single-line if (then)/else expressions may omit braces. If either branch of an if/else has more than one line, use braces for both branches.

15. if Should Always Have else

Every if expression should have a corresponding else branch. This makes the logic explicit and avoids subtle bugs from missing cases.

16. Don't Use var

Avoid var unless it is absolutely required (e.g. for Java interop or performance-critical mutable state with no functional alternative). Prefer val, immutable data structures, and functional patterns.

17. Naming: No ALL-CAPITAL Acronyms

Never use all-capital letters for acronyms or short words in identifiers — they are hard to read. Use PascalCase for acronyms/abbreviations. For example: VpnIdHttpPinUuid not VPNIDHTTPPINUUID, HttpClient not HTTPClient, JsonParser not JSONParser.

18. Separate Operations from Data in Case Classes

Do not put methods in a case class body. Instead, define them as extension methods in the companion object. Case classes should be pure data carriers — separating operations from data follows the core FP principle of defining data types and functions over them independently. This improves composability, makes serialization cleaner, and avoids conflating data definition with behavior.

19. Do Not Use Default Parameters

Avoid default parameter values. They hide semantics at the call site, smuggle policy into APIs, make changes risky (changing a default silently changes behavior in all callers with no compile-time signal), create ambiguous APIs (especially with multiple optional or boolean parameters), encourage oversized functions, and interact badly with overloading, named arguments, and versioning (especially in Scala 2). They also complicate higher-order usage since defaults are lost during eta-expansion. Instead, require all parameters explicitly, use a configuration case class, or provide distinct method names for distinct behaviors.

20. Tuple: Use Pattern Matching Instead of _._1, _._2

Never access tuple elements by positional accessors (_._1, _._2, etc.). Use pattern matching to destructure tuples into named bindings instead. Positional accessors are meaningless and convey no intent. Pattern matching gives each element a descriptive name, making the code self-documenting. For example: nameValuePairs.map { case (name, _) => name } instead of nameValuePairs.map(_._1), and priceAndQuantityPairs.map(x => x._1 * x._2) becomes priceAndQuantityPairs.map { case (price, quantity) => price * quantity }.

21. Pattern Matching on ADTs: Prefer Explicit Constructors over Wildcard

When pattern matching on an ADT, prefer explicit data constructor matches over the wildcard pattern (_) — even when the remaining cases are handled identically. Use | (alternative patterns) to combine them. This makes the compiler's exhaustiveness check work for you: when a new variant is added to the ADT, the compiler warns about the non-exhaustive match instead of silently routing the new case through the wildcard. Example — given the ADT:

// Scala 2
sealed trait Foobar
object Foobar {
  case object Foo extends Foobar
  final case class Bar(n: Int) extends Foobar
  case object Baz extends Foobar
  final case class Qux(s: String) extends Foobar
}

// Scala 3
enum Foobar {
  case Foo
  case Bar(n: Int)
  case Baz
  case Qux(s: String)
}

Prefer:

foobar match {
  case Foo         => println("It's Foo!")
  case Bar(n)      => println(s"The bar value is $n")
  case Baz | Qux(_) => println("Neither Foo nor Bar")
}

Instead of:

foobar match {
  case Foo    => println("It's Foo!")
  case Bar(n) => println(s"The bar value is $n")
  case _      => println("Neither Foo nor Bar")
}

How to Apply

When writing new Scala code: follow all rules above from the start.

When refactoring existing Scala code: scan for violations of the rules above and fix them. Common things to look for:

• Non-final case classes
• ADT variants defined outside companion objects
• ADT variants without constructor methods
• Some() / None / Right() / Left() used directly (except in test assertions on the expected side)
• if (cond) value.some else none instead of Option.when(cond)(value) (Scala 2.13+)
• if (cond) b.asRight else a.asLeft instead of Either.cond(cond, b, a)
• Option.get calls
• == / != used for equality
• Primitive types used where a value class / newtype would be more expressive
• Boolean fields that would be clearer as ADTs
• Exception throwing instead of returning Option / Either
• Nested flatMap/map that could be a for-comprehension (or single-generator for-comprehension that should just be map/flatMap)
• Code formatting inconsistent with .scalafmt.conf
• Code violating .scalafix.conf rules
• Scala 3 code using significant indentation (braceless) syntax instead of braces
• if expressions missing an else branch
• Use of var where val or immutable patterns would suffice
• ALL-CAPITAL acronyms in identifiers (e.g. HTTPClient instead of HttpClient)
• Methods defined directly in case class bodies instead of as extension methods in companion objects
• Default parameter values hiding semantics, smuggling policy, or encouraging oversized function signatures
• Tuple element access via _._1, _._2 instead of pattern matching (e.g. { case (name, _) => name })
• Wildcard (_) pattern used when matching on an ADT — replace with explicit constructors combined via | so exhaustiveness checking catches new variants