Macros are a powerful feature of Scala 2.10 that have received significant updates in Scala 2.11. For the journeyman Scala programmer, however, they can be difficult to approach. There is a scarcity of detailed documentation on important concepts such as AST creation, type inspection, and debugging, that can make your first non-trivial macro a daunting prospect.

In this talk, Dave Gurnell will approach Scala 2.11's macros from the point of view of the journeyman programmer. He will walk through the creation of a simple macro-based library for data validation, highlighting hints, tips, and best practices that will dramatically lower the barrier to entry into the world of macros. Topics covered will include:

project setup and separate compilation

AST creation

quasiquotes

type inspection

macro debugging

Dave is a Scala consultant and developer working for Underscore in London, UK. He has been a Scala developer since 2010 and a functional programmer for nearly a decade.