Scala vs. Kotlin: Hiring the Better Candidate for Your Project

Developers working together side by side in an office space

Both Scala and Kotlin are JVM-based, statically typed programming languages built to address the criticisms of Java that support object-oriented and functional programming. To weigh in on the debate of Scala vs. Kotlin, we must assess the fundamentals of each language and compare different scenarios. After all, each language has its specialties. Overall, the size of your projects, departments, and other factors can determine which language is best for your company. Here we’ll look at how your recruitment teams can decide which language to assess for potential employees and make the most informed choices for projects and hiring.

Comparing Scala vs. Kotlin: Which is Better For Your Project?

While Scala and Kotlin have many similarities, each language has addressed criticisms differently. 

It’s important to note that when comparing the differences of Scala vs. Kotlin, you must consider the two biggest differences: language fundamentals (syntax, compatibility, etc.) and language application (project sizes, big or small data, etc.).

Fundamental Comparison

Kotlin

  • Focuses on helping programmers create smaller bytes of code by supporting type inference and faster compilation times than Java.
  • Is not as popular or old as Java or Scala, so it provides less support. However, Kotlin is on the rise, hoping to see more support and developers in the coming years.

Scala

  • Focuses on its level of compatibility and keeps syntax similar to Java while including more expressive, organized code.
  • Has a slower compilation time than Kotlin and is less efficient than object-oriented java code with CPU usage and memory management.

 

Application Comparison

When determining which programming language is better for your project and for your employees to learn, consider the size and complexity of the project(s) your company will take on. 

Kotlin

If you are working on a small project, Kotlin may be the better choice because of its ability to compile small projects faster. It also has its benefits during the development process by saving developers time by cutting out repetition and lowering the probability of coming across common code errors.

Scala

If you are working on a large or complex project, Scala may be a better choice. It has the libraries and compatibility needed for large projects with big data. Scala also has a strong type system, giving larger codes better specificity and preventing occurrences such as duplicate inlining. 

Assessing a Candidate's Knowledge: Scala vs. Kotlin

Both languages are beneficial in different aspects despite having many similarities. When looking for new developers for your company, it’s important to assess a candidate's understanding of Scala and Kotlin languages to cover all the bases. If offered the position, these candidates will likely work on projects of all different sizes. Therefore, it’s problematic if they are only familiar with one of the two languages.

The assessment must be fair and thorough to truly assess a candidate’s understanding of each of these languages. It’s necessary to include data-driven recruiting techniques and technology to achieve a fast interview process with the best results. 

This method includes, but is not limited to:

  • Automatic grading/scoring
  • Candidate profiles for reviewing interview materials

These features and products will help your recruitment team optimize time and create thorough assessments despite the language — Scala vs. Kotlin. Finding data-driven technology that fulfills all the requirements for an efficient interview can be difficult. Luckily, Filtered is here with all these features mentioned above (and more!) to help your recruiting team hire the best candidates and stay ahead of the competition. 

Filtered is a leader in skills-based hiring. Our end-to-end technical hiring platform enables you to spend time reviewing only the most qualified candidates, putting skills and aptitude at the forefront of your decisions. We’ll help you automate hiring while applying objective, data-driven techniques to consistently and confidently select the right candidates. To get started, contact our team today or register for a FREE demo.