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Except that services like Twitter are used massively in the real world and do use Scala.

They are both languages in the tails, although different tails: Scala currently only has early adopters, Cobol is mostly used in systems that are in maintenance model. Scala has the potential to get a bigger slice of the pie, while Cobol's glory days are past.

Whether Cobol's glory days are past or not, is really depending on the industry.

In banking, and there are plenty of examples of brand new systems being rolled out in Cobol.

... and also in Scala, although I agree that COBOL will remain in use until the end of mankind. :-)

Sure. I didn't mean to imply that Scala is not used in the real world.

Did you know it was possible to get work done AND have opinions about things?

The human brain really is a wonderful thing.

Well, for true hackers[1], it is not about getting shit done. It is about how shit is done or, to be precise, how proof-of-concept shit is done. And getting enjoyment out of the process itself.

[1] Yes, hackers, not entrepreneurs.

Could not have put it better myself.