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FAQ: minor improvements to functions vs methods #3068

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Oct 19, 2024
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24 changes: 14 additions & 10 deletions _overviews/FAQ/index.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -244,18 +244,22 @@ differ from a function value such as:

val square: Int => Int = x => x * x

For Scala 2, there is a [complete answer on Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/a/2530007/4111404)
For **Scala 2**, there is a [complete answer on Stack Overflow](https://stackoverflow.com/a/2530007/4111404)
and a [summary with practical differences](https://tpolecat.github.io/2014/06/09/methods-functions.html).

Note that in **Scala 3** the differences are fewer;
for example, they will be able to
[accept implicit parameters]({{ site.scala3ref }}/contextual/context-functions.html)
as well as [type parameters]({{ site.scala3ref }}/new-types/polymorphic-function-types.html).

Nevertheless, it is still recommended to use methods most of the time,
unless you absolutely need a function. And, thanks to
[eta-expansion](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/39445018/what-is-the-eta-expansion-in-scala)
you rarely would need to define a function rather than a method.
In **Scala 3**, the differences are fewer.
[Context functions]({{ site.scala3ref }}/contextual/context-functions.html)
accept given parameters and
[polymorphic functions]({{ site.scala3ref }}/new-types/polymorphic-function-types.html)
have type parameters.

It's standard to use methods most of the time,
except when function value is actually needed.
[Eta-expansion](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/39445018/what-is-the-eta-expansion-in-scala),
converts methods to functions when needed.
For example, a method such as `map` expects a function,
but even if you `def square` as shown above, you can
still `xs.map(square)`.

### What's the difference between types and classes?

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