diff --git a/jvm/src/test/scala/scala/xml/XMLTest.scala b/jvm/src/test/scala/scala/xml/XMLTest.scala
index 9d14219b..a978e4bf 100644
--- a/jvm/src/test/scala/scala/xml/XMLTest.scala
+++ b/jvm/src/test/scala/scala/xml/XMLTest.scala
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ package scala.xml
 
 import org.junit.{Test => UnitTest}
 import org.junit.Assert.{assertEquals, assertFalse, assertNull, assertThrows, assertTrue}
-import java.io.StringWriter
-import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream
+import java.io.{ByteArrayInputStream, ByteArrayOutputStream, InputStreamReader, IOException, ObjectInputStream,
+  ObjectOutputStream, OutputStreamWriter, PrintStream, StringWriter}
 import java.net.URL
 import scala.xml.dtd.{DocType, PublicID}
 import scala.xml.parsing.ConstructingParser
@@ -177,26 +177,26 @@ class XMLTestJVM {
     </entry>""", f("a,b,c").toString)
 
   object Serialize {
-    @throws(classOf[java.io.IOException])
+    @throws(classOf[IOException])
     def write[A](o: A): Array[Byte] = {
       val ba: ByteArrayOutputStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream(512)
-      val out: java.io.ObjectOutputStream = new java.io.ObjectOutputStream(ba)
+      val out: ObjectOutputStream = new ObjectOutputStream(ba)
       out.writeObject(o)
       out.close()
       ba.toByteArray
     }
-    @throws(classOf[java.io.IOException])
+    @throws(classOf[IOException])
     @throws(classOf[ClassNotFoundException])
     def read[A](buffer: Array[Byte]): A = {
-      val in: java.io.ObjectInputStream =
-        new java.io.ObjectInputStream(new java.io.ByteArrayInputStream(buffer))
+      val in: ObjectInputStream =
+        new ObjectInputStream(new ByteArrayInputStream(buffer))
       in.readObject().asInstanceOf[A]
     }
     def check[A, B](x: A, y: B): Unit = {
       // println("x = " + x)
       // println("y = " + y)
-      // println("x equals y: " + (x equals y) + ", y equals x: " + (y equals x))
-      assertTrue(x.equals(y) && y.equals(x))
+      // println("x == y: " + (x == y) + ", y == x: " + (y == x))
+      assertTrue(x == y && y == x)
       // println()
     }
   }
@@ -296,14 +296,14 @@ class XMLTestJVM {
     // scala.xml.XML.save("foo.xml", xml)
     // scala.xml.XML.loadFile("foo.xml").toString
 
-    val outputStream: java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream = new java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream
-    val streamWriter: java.io.OutputStreamWriter = new java.io.OutputStreamWriter(outputStream, "UTF-8")
+    val outputStream: ByteArrayOutputStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream
+    val streamWriter: OutputStreamWriter = new OutputStreamWriter(outputStream, "UTF-8")
 
     XML.write(streamWriter, xml, XML.encoding, xmlDecl = false, null)
     streamWriter.flush()
 
-    val inputStream: java.io.ByteArrayInputStream = new java.io.ByteArrayInputStream(outputStream.toByteArray)
-    val streamReader: java.io.InputStreamReader = new java.io.InputStreamReader(inputStream, XML.encoding)
+    val inputStream: ByteArrayInputStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(outputStream.toByteArray)
+    val streamReader: InputStreamReader = new InputStreamReader(inputStream, XML.encoding)
 
     assertEquals(xml.toString, XML.load(streamReader).toString)
   }
@@ -492,8 +492,6 @@ class XMLTestJVM {
 
   @UnitTest
   def dontLoop(): Unit = {
-    import java.io.{ Console => _, _ }
-
     val xml: String = "<!DOCTYPE xmeml SYSTEM 'uri'> <xmeml> <sequence> </sequence> </xmeml> "
     val sink: PrintStream = new PrintStream(new ByteArrayOutputStream())
     Console.withOut(sink) {
@@ -1026,7 +1024,7 @@ class XMLTestJVM {
 
   def toSource(s: String): scala.io.Source = new scala.io.Source {
     override val iter: Iterator[Char] = s.iterator
-    override def reportError(pos: Int, msg: String, out: java.io.PrintStream = Console.err): Unit = ()
+    override def reportError(pos: Int, msg: String, out: PrintStream = Console.err): Unit = ()
   }
 
   @UnitTest
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Attribute.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Attribute.scala
index cb2b2d97..97457ab7 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Attribute.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Attribute.scala
@@ -81,15 +81,13 @@ trait Attribute extends MetaData {
   }
 
   /** Returns an iterator on attributes */
-  override def iterator: Iterator[MetaData] = {
+  override def iterator: Iterator[MetaData] =
     if (value == null) next.iterator
     else Iterator.single(this) ++ next.iterator
-  }
 
-  override def size: Int = {
+  override def size: Int =
     if (value == null) next.size
     else 1 + next.size
-  }
 
   /**
    * Appends string representation of only this attribute to stringbuffer.
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Comment.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Comment.scala
index aee8dc07..6c27a025 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Comment.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Comment.scala
@@ -29,12 +29,11 @@ case class Comment(commentText: String) extends SpecialNode {
   final override def doCollectNamespaces: Boolean = false
   final override def doTransform: Boolean = false
 
-  if (commentText.contains("--")) {
+  if (commentText.contains("--"))
     throw new IllegalArgumentException(s"""text contains "--"""")
-  }
-  if (commentText.nonEmpty && commentText.charAt(commentText.length - 1) == '-') {
+
+  if (commentText.nonEmpty && commentText.charAt(commentText.length - 1) == '-')
     throw new IllegalArgumentException("The final character of a XML comment may not be '-'. See https://www.w3.org/TR/xml11//#IDA5CES")
-  }
 
   /**
    * Appends &quot;<!-- text -->&quot; to this string buffer.
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Equality.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Equality.scala
index d2b6e8ca..3b48b282 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Equality.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Equality.scala
@@ -61,18 +61,13 @@ object Equality {
     case x: NodeSeq if x.length == 1 => x2 == x(0)
     case _                           => false
   }
-  def compareBlithely(x1: AnyRef, x2: AnyRef): Boolean = {
-    if (x1 == null || x2 == null)
-      return x1.eq(x2)
-
-    x2 match {
+  def compareBlithely(x1: AnyRef, x2: AnyRef): Boolean =
+    if (x1 == null || x2 == null) x1 == null && x2 == null else x2 match {
       case s: String => compareBlithely(x1, s)
       case n: Node   => compareBlithely(x1, n)
       case _         => false
     }
-  }
 }
-import Equality._
 
 trait Equality extends scala.Equals {
   protected def basisForHashCode: Seq[Any]
@@ -109,10 +104,10 @@ trait Equality extends scala.Equals {
   private def doComparison(other: Any, blithe: Boolean): Boolean = {
     val strictlyEqual: Boolean = other match {
       case x: AnyRef if this.eq(x) => true
-      case x: Equality             => (x canEqual this) && (this strict_== x)
+      case x: Equality             => x.canEqual(this) && this.strict_==(x)
       case _                       => false
     }
 
-    strictlyEqual || (blithe && compareBlithely(this, asRef(other)))
+    strictlyEqual || (blithe && Equality.compareBlithely(this, Equality.asRef(other)))
   }
 }
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/MetaData.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/MetaData.scala
index b55b3187..97931133 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/MetaData.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/MetaData.scala
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ object MetaData {
    */
   @tailrec
   def concatenate(attribs: MetaData, new_tail: MetaData): MetaData =
-    if (attribs.eq(Null)) new_tail
+    if (attribs.isNull) new_tail
     else concatenate(attribs.next, attribs.copy(new_tail))
 
   /**
@@ -37,20 +37,19 @@ object MetaData {
    *  namespace URIs via the given scope.
    */
   def normalize(attribs: MetaData, scope: NamespaceBinding): MetaData = {
-    def iterate(md: MetaData, normalized_attribs: MetaData, set: Set[String]): MetaData = {
-      if (md.eq(Null)) {
+    def iterate(md: MetaData, normalized_attribs: MetaData, set: Set[String]): MetaData =
+      if (md.isNull) {
         normalized_attribs
-      } else if (md.value.eq(null)) {
+      } else if (md.value == null)
         iterate(md.next, normalized_attribs, set)
-      } else {
+      else {
         val key: String = getUniversalKey(md, scope)
-        if (set(key)) {
+        if (set(key))
           iterate(md.next, normalized_attribs, set)
-        } else {
+        else
           md.copy(iterate(md.next, normalized_attribs, set + key))
-        }
       }
-    }
+
     iterate(attribs, Null, Set())
   }
 
@@ -85,7 +84,9 @@ abstract class MetaData
   extends AbstractIterable[MetaData]
   with Iterable[MetaData]
   with Equality
-  with Serializable {
+  with Serializable
+{
+  private[xml] def isNull: Boolean = this.eq(Null)
 
   /**
    * Updates this MetaData with the MetaData given as argument. All attributes that occur in updates
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NamespaceBinding.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NamespaceBinding.scala
index 7e851eda..8efe27d7 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NamespaceBinding.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NamespaceBinding.scala
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ case class NamespaceBinding(prefix: String, uri: String, parent: NamespaceBindin
   if (prefix == "")
     throw new IllegalArgumentException("zero length prefix not allowed")
 
-  def getURI(_prefix: String): String =
-    if (prefix == _prefix) uri else parent.getURI(_prefix)
+  def getURI(prefix: String): String =
+    if (this.prefix == prefix) uri else parent.getURI(prefix)
 
   /**
    * Returns some prefix that is mapped to the URI.
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ case class NamespaceBinding(prefix: String, uri: String, parent: NamespaceBindin
    * @return the prefix that is mapped to the input URI, or null
    * if no prefix is mapped to the URI.
    */
-  def getPrefix(_uri: String): String =
-    if (_uri == uri) prefix else parent.getPrefix(_uri)
+  def getPrefix(uri: String): String =
+    if (uri == this.uri) prefix else parent.getPrefix(uri)
 
   override def toString: String = Utility.sbToString(buildString(_, TopScope))
 
@@ -72,9 +72,8 @@ case class NamespaceBinding(prefix: String, uri: String, parent: NamespaceBindin
 
   def buildString(stop: NamespaceBinding): String = Utility.sbToString(buildString(_, stop))
 
-  def buildString(sb: StringBuilder, stop: NamespaceBinding): Unit = {
+  def buildString(sb: StringBuilder, stop: NamespaceBinding): Unit =
     shadowRedefined(stop).doBuildString(sb, stop)
-  }
 
   private def doBuildString(sb: StringBuilder, stop: NamespaceBinding): Unit = {
     if (List(null, stop, TopScope).contains(this)) return
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Node.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Node.scala
index ff719ec4..f5337eee 100755
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Node.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Node.scala
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ abstract class Node extends NodeSeq {
    * @return    the namespace if `scope != null` and prefix was
    *            found, else `null`
    */
-  def getNamespace(pre: String): String = if (scope.eq(null)) null else scope.getURI(pre)
+  def getNamespace(pre: String): String = if (scope == null) null else scope.getURI(pre)
 
   /**
    * Convenience method, looks up an unprefixed attribute in attributes of this node.
@@ -125,7 +125,7 @@ abstract class Node extends NodeSeq {
   /**
    * Children which do not stringify to "" (needed for equality)
    */
-  def nonEmptyChildren: Seq[Node] = child.filterNot(_.toString == "")
+  def nonEmptyChildren: Seq[Node] = child.filterNot(_.toString.isEmpty)
 
   /**
    * Descendant axis (all descendants of this node, not including node itself)
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NodeSeq.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NodeSeq.scala
index cbb5b047..bdf316f9 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NodeSeq.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/NodeSeq.scala
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ abstract class NodeSeq extends AbstractSeq[Node] with immutable.Seq[Node] with S
           val i: Int = that.indexOf('}')
           if (i == -1) fail
           val (uri: String, key: String) = (that.substring(2, i), that.substring(i + 1, that.length))
-          if (uri == "" || key == "") fail
+          if (uri.isEmpty || key.isEmpty) fail
           else y.attribute(uri, key)
         } else y.attribute(that.drop(1))
 
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrefixedAttribute.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrefixedAttribute.scala
index bba655d5..3a3985fe 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrefixedAttribute.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrefixedAttribute.scala
@@ -28,13 +28,15 @@ class PrefixedAttribute(
   override val pre: String,
   override val key: String,
   override val value: Seq[Node],
-  val next1: MetaData)
-  extends Attribute {
-  override val next: MetaData = if (value.ne(null)) next1 else next1.remove(key)
+  val next1: MetaData
+)
+  extends Attribute
+{
+  override val next: MetaData = if (value != null) next1 else next1.remove(key)
 
   /** same as this(pre, key, Text(value), next), or no attribute if value is null */
   def this(pre: String, key: String, value: String, next: MetaData) =
-    this(pre, key, if (value.ne(null)) Text(value) else null: NodeSeq, next)
+    this(pre, key, if (value != null) Text(value) else null: NodeSeq, next)
 
   /** same as this(pre, key, value.get, next), or no attribute if value is None */
   def this(pre: String, key: String, value: Option[Seq[Node]], next: MetaData) =
@@ -56,12 +58,11 @@ class PrefixedAttribute(
   /**
    * gets attribute value of qualified (prefixed) attribute with given key
    */
-  override def apply(namespace: String, scope: NamespaceBinding, key: String): Seq[Node] = {
+  override def apply(namespace: String, scope: NamespaceBinding, key: String): Seq[Node] =
     if (key == this.key && scope.getURI(pre) == namespace)
       value
     else
       next(namespace, scope, key)
-  }
 }
 
 object PrefixedAttribute {
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrettyPrinter.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrettyPrinter.scala
index dbc3d811..e1e35c3c 100755
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrettyPrinter.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/PrettyPrinter.scala
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ class PrettyPrinter(width: Int, step: Int, minimizeEmpty: Boolean) {
 
   protected def traverse(node: Node, pscope: NamespaceBinding, ind: Int): Unit = node match {
 
-    case Text(s) if s.trim == "" =>
+    case Text(s) if s.trim.isEmpty =>
 
     case _: Atom[_] | _: Comment | _: EntityRef | _: ProcInstr =>
       makeBox(ind, node.toString.trim)
@@ -163,18 +163,17 @@ class PrettyPrinter(width: Int, step: Int, minimizeEmpty: Boolean) {
         if (doPreserve(node)) sb.toString
         else TextBuffer.fromString(sb.toString).toText(0).data
       }
-      if (childrenAreLeaves(node) && fits(test)) {
+      if (childrenAreLeaves(node) && fits(test))
         makeBox(ind, test)
-      } else {
+      else {
         val ((stg: String, len2: Int), etg: String) =
           if (node.child.isEmpty && minimizeEmpty) {
             // force the tag to be self-closing
             val firstAttribute: Int = test.indexOf(' ')
             val firstBreak: Int = if (firstAttribute != -1) firstAttribute else test.lastIndexOf('/')
             ((test, firstBreak), "")
-          } else {
+          } else
             (startTag(node, pscope), endTag(node))
-          }
 
         if (stg.length < width - cur) { // start tag fits
           makeBox(ind, stg)
@@ -221,9 +220,7 @@ class PrettyPrinter(width: Int, step: Int, minimizeEmpty: Boolean) {
    * @param n    the node to be serialized
    * @param sb   the stringbuffer to append to
    */
-  def format(n: Node, sb: StringBuilder): Unit = { // entry point
-    format(n, TopScope, sb)
-  }
+  def format(n: Node, sb: StringBuilder): Unit = format(n, TopScope, sb) // entry point
 
   def format(n: Node, pscope: NamespaceBinding, sb: StringBuilder): Unit = { // entry point
     var lastwasbreak: Boolean = false
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/ProcInstr.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/ProcInstr.scala
index 4d09b373..f12bc4a6 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/ProcInstr.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/ProcInstr.scala
@@ -39,8 +39,6 @@ case class ProcInstr(target: String, proctext: String) extends SpecialNode {
    * appends &quot;&lt;?&quot; target (&quot; &quot;+text)?+&quot;?&gt;&quot;
    *  to this stringbuffer.
    */
-  override def buildString(sb: StringBuilder): StringBuilder = {
-    val textStr: String = if (proctext == "") "" else s" $proctext"
-    sb.append(s"<?$target$textStr?>")
-  }
+  override def buildString(sb: StringBuilder): StringBuilder =
+    sb.append(s"<?$target${if (proctext.isEmpty) "" else s" $proctext"}?>")
 }
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/TopScope.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/TopScope.scala
index 2dc77139..0b82e4b6 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/TopScope.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/TopScope.scala
@@ -20,13 +20,11 @@ package xml
  */
 object TopScope extends NamespaceBinding(null, null, null) {
 
-  import XML.{xml, namespace}
-
   override def getURI(prefix1: String): String =
-    if (prefix1 == xml) namespace else null
+    if (prefix1 == XML.xml) XML.namespace else null
 
   override def getPrefix(uri1: String): String =
-    if (uri1 == namespace) xml else null
+    if (uri1 == XML.namespace) XML.xml else null
 
   override def toString: String = ""
 
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/UnprefixedAttribute.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/UnprefixedAttribute.scala
index 86cf538e..0f044680 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/UnprefixedAttribute.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/UnprefixedAttribute.scala
@@ -24,14 +24,16 @@ import scala.collection.Seq
 class UnprefixedAttribute(
   override val key: String,
   override val value: Seq[Node],
-  next1: MetaData)
-  extends Attribute {
+  next1: MetaData
+)
+  extends Attribute
+{
   final override val pre: scala.Null = null
-  override val next: MetaData = if (value.ne(null)) next1 else next1.remove(key)
+  override val next: MetaData = if (value != null) next1 else next1.remove(key)
 
   /** same as this(key, Text(value), next), or no attribute if value is null */
   def this(key: String, value: String, next: MetaData) =
-    this(key, if (value.ne(null)) Text(value) else null: NodeSeq, next)
+    this(key, if (value != null) Text(value) else null: NodeSeq, next)
 
   /** same as this(key, value.get, next), or no attribute if value is None */
   def this(key: String, value: Option[Seq[Node]], next: MetaData) =
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala
index ab3592f2..ff8a2fb4 100755
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Utility.scala
@@ -55,12 +55,11 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
       Elem(pre, lab, md, scp, children.isEmpty, children: _*)
   }
 
-  private def combineAdjacentTextNodes(children: Seq[Node]): Seq[Node] = {
+  private def combineAdjacentTextNodes(children: Seq[Node]): Seq[Node] =
     children.foldRight(Seq.empty[Node]) {
       case (Text(left), Text(right) +: nodes) => Text(left + right) +: nodes
       case (n, nodes) => n +: nodes
     }
-  }
 
   /**
    * trim a child of an element. `Attribute` values and `Atom` nodes that
@@ -77,7 +76,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
   }
 
   /** returns a sorted attribute list */
-  def sort(md: MetaData): MetaData = if (md.eq(Null) || md.next.eq(Null)) md else {
+  def sort(md: MetaData): MetaData = if (md.isNull || md.next.isNull) md else {
     val key: String = md.key
     val smaller: MetaData = sort(md.filter { m => m.key < key })
     val greater: MetaData = sort(md.filter { m => m.key > key })
@@ -120,7 +119,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
   /**
    * Appends escaped string to `s`.
    */
-  final def escape(text: String, s: StringBuilder): StringBuilder = {
+  final def escape(text: String, s: StringBuilder): StringBuilder =
     // Implemented per XML spec:
     // http://www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-controls
     text.iterator.foldLeft(s) { (s, c) =>
@@ -130,7 +129,6 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
         case _ => s // noop
       }
     }
-  }
 
   /**
    * Appends unescaped string to `s`, `amp` becomes `&amp;`,
@@ -151,7 +149,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
   /**
    * Adds all namespaces in node to set.
    */
-  def collectNamespaces(n: Node, set: mutable.Set[String]): Unit = {
+  def collectNamespaces(n: Node, set: mutable.Set[String]): Unit =
     if (n.doCollectNamespaces) {
       set += n.namespace
       for (a <- n.attributes) a match {
@@ -162,7 +160,6 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
       for (i <- n.child)
         collectNamespaces(i, set)
     }
-  }
 
   // def toXML(
   //   x: Node,
@@ -251,7 +248,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
           case e: Elem =>
             sb.append('<')
             e.nameToString(sb)
-            if (e.attributes.ne(null)) e.attributes.buildString(sb)
+            if (e.attributes != null) e.attributes.buildString(sb)
             e.scope.buildString(sb, pscopes.head)
             if (e.child.isEmpty &&
               (minimizeTags == MinimizeMode.Always ||
@@ -325,14 +322,12 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
     sb.append('"')
   }
 
-  def getName(s: String, index: Int): String = {
-    if (index >= s.length) null
-    else {
+  def getName(s: String, index: Int): String =
+    if (index >= s.length) null else {
       val xs: String = s.drop(index)
       if (xs.nonEmpty && isNameStart(xs.head)) xs.takeWhile(isNameChar)
       else ""
     }
-  }
 
   /**
    * Returns `'''null'''` if the value is a correct attribute value,
@@ -346,7 +341,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
           return "< not allowed in attribute value"
         case '&' =>
           val n: String = getName(value, i + 1)
-          if (n.eq(null))
+          if (n == null)
             return s"malformed entity reference in attribute value [$value]"
           i = i + n.length + 1
           if (i >= value.length || value.charAt(i) != ';')
@@ -374,7 +369,7 @@ object Utility extends AnyRef with parsing.TokenTests {
           val theChar: String = parseCharRef ({ () => c }, { () => c = it.next() }, { s => throw new RuntimeException(s) }, { s => throw new RuntimeException(s) })
           sb.append(theChar)
         } else {
-          if (rfb.eq(null)) rfb = new StringBuilder()
+          if (rfb == null) rfb = new StringBuilder()
           rfb.append(c)
           c = it.next()
           while (c != ';') {
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/XML.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/XML.scala
index 9cf06d13..3dfe36b2 100755
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/XML.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/XML.scala
@@ -126,7 +126,7 @@ object XML extends XMLLoader[Elem] {
   ): Unit = {
     /* TODO: optimize by giving writer parameter to toXML*/
     if (xmlDecl) w.write(s"<?xml version='1.0' encoding='$enc'?>\n")
-    if (doctype.ne(null)) w.write(s"$doctype\n")
+    if (doctype != null) w.write(s"$doctype\n")
     w.write(Utility.serialize(node, minimizeTags = minimizeTags).toString)
   }
 }
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Xhtml.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Xhtml.scala
index b30175ee..a7ce99d0 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Xhtml.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/Xhtml.scala
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ object Xhtml {
       case _ =>
         sb.append('<')
         x.nameToString(sb)
-        if (x.attributes.ne(null)) x.attributes.buildString(sb)
+        if (x.attributes != null) x.attributes.buildString(sb)
         x.scope.buildString(sb, pscope)
 
         if (shortForm) sb.append(" />")
@@ -95,10 +95,7 @@ object Xhtml {
     decodeEntities: Boolean = false,
     preserveWhitespace: Boolean = false,
     minimizeTags: Boolean = true
-  ): Unit = {
-    if (children.isEmpty)
-      return
-
+  ): Unit = if (children.nonEmpty) {
     val doSpaces: Boolean = children.forall(isAtomAndNotText) // interleave spaces
     for (c <- children.take(children.length - 1)) {
       toXhtml(c, pscope, sb, stripComments, decodeEntities, preserveWhitespace, minimizeTags)
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/dtd/Decl.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/dtd/Decl.scala
index 570669dc..c2cf53e1 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/dtd/Decl.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/dtd/Decl.scala
@@ -37,8 +37,7 @@ sealed abstract class MarkupDecl extends Decl {
 /**
  * an element declaration
  */
-case class ElemDecl(name: String, contentModel: ContentModel)
-  extends MarkupDecl {
+case class ElemDecl(name: String, contentModel: ContentModel) extends MarkupDecl {
   override def buildString(sb: StringBuilder): StringBuilder = {
     sb.append(s"<!ELEMENT $name ")
     ContentModel.buildString(contentModel, sb)
@@ -46,8 +45,7 @@ case class ElemDecl(name: String, contentModel: ContentModel)
   }
 }
 
-case class AttListDecl(name: String, attrs: List[AttrDecl])
-  extends MarkupDecl {
+case class AttListDecl(name: String, attrs: List[AttrDecl]) extends MarkupDecl {
   override def buildString(sb: StringBuilder): StringBuilder =
     sb.append(s"<!ATTLIST $name\n${attrs.mkString("\n")}>")
 }
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/include/sax/XIncludeFilter.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/include/sax/XIncludeFilter.scala
index 9c70136b..b82414d6 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/include/sax/XIncludeFilter.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/include/sax/XIncludeFilter.scala
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ class XIncludeFilter extends XMLFilterImpl {
       }
       bases push currentBase
 
-      if (uri.equals(XINCLUDE_NAMESPACE) && localName.equals("include")) {
+      if (uri == XINCLUDE_NAMESPACE && localName == "include") {
         // include external document
         val href: String = atts.getValue("href")
         // Verify that there is an href attribute
@@ -145,16 +145,13 @@ class XIncludeFilter extends XMLFilterImpl {
         var parse: String = atts.getValue("parse")
         if (parse == null) parse = "xml"
 
-        if (parse.equals("text")) {
-          val encoding: String = atts.getValue("encoding")
-          includeTextDocument(href, encoding)
-        } else if (parse.equals("xml")) {
+        if (parse == "text")
+          includeTextDocument(href, atts.getValue("encoding"))
+        else if (parse == "xml")
           includeXMLDocument(href)
-        } // Need to check this also in DOM and JDOM????
-        else {
-          throw new SAXException(
-            s"Illegal value for parse attribute: $parse")
-        }
+        // Need to check this also in DOM and JDOM????
+        else
+          throw new SAXException(s"Illegal value for parse attribute: $parse")
         level += 1
       } else {
         if (atRoot) {
@@ -171,8 +168,7 @@ class XIncludeFilter extends XMLFilterImpl {
   }
 
   override def endElement(uri: String, localName: String, qName: String): Unit = {
-    if (uri.equals(XINCLUDE_NAMESPACE)
-      && localName.equals("include")) {
+    if (uri == XINCLUDE_NAMESPACE && localName == "include") {
       level -= 1
     } else if (level == 0) {
       bases.pop()
@@ -253,7 +249,7 @@ class XIncludeFilter extends XMLFilterImpl {
    */
   private def includeTextDocument(url: String, encoding1: String): Unit = {
     var encoding: String = encoding1
-    if (encoding == null || encoding.trim.equals("")) encoding = "UTF-8"
+    if (encoding == null || encoding.trim.isEmpty) encoding = "UTF-8"
     var source: URL = null
     try {
       val base: URL = bases.peek
@@ -278,8 +274,8 @@ class XIncludeFilter extends XMLFilterImpl {
         // Java may be picking this up from file URL
         if (contentType != null) {
           contentType = contentType.toLowerCase
-          if (contentType.equals("text/xml")
-            || contentType.equals("application/xml")
+          if (contentType == "text/xml"
+            || contentType == "application/xml"
             || (contentType.startsWith("text/") && contentType.endsWith("+xml"))
             || (contentType.startsWith("application/") && contentType.endsWith("+xml"))) {
             encoding = EncodingHeuristics.readEncodingFromStream(in)
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/ElementContentModel.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/ElementContentModel.scala
index 832297c5..cb7316d6 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/ElementContentModel.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/ElementContentModel.scala
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ private[parsing] object ElementContentModel {
         val string: String = removeParentheses(parenthesized)
         if (occurrence == Occurrence.Once && string == PCData.value) PCData else if (occurrence == Occurrence.RepeatOptional) {
           val choice: List[String] = Elements.Choice.split(string)
-          if (choice.length > 1 && choice.head == PCData.value) Mixed(choice.tail.map(Elements.Element))
+          if (choice.length > 1 && choice.head == PCData.value) Mixed(choice.tail.map(Elements.Element.apply))
           else Children.parse(string, occurrence)
         } else Children.parse(string, occurrence)
     }
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParser.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParser.scala
index f76520da..2ca4773c 100755
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParser.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParser.scala
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ trait MarkupParser extends MarkupParserCommon with TokenTests {
    */
   def parseDTD(): Unit = { // dirty but fast
     var extID: ExternalID = null
-    if (this.dtd.ne(null))
+    if (dtd != null)
       reportSyntaxError("unexpected character (DOCTYPE already defined")
     xToken("DOCTYPE")
     xSpace()
@@ -562,7 +562,7 @@ trait MarkupParser extends MarkupParserCommon with TokenTests {
       /*override val */ decls = handle.decls.reverse
     }
     //this.dtd.initializeEntities();
-    if (doc.ne(null))
+    if (doc != null)
       doc.dtd = this.dtd
 
     handle.endDTD(n)
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParserCommon.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParserCommon.scala
index 8179b8a7..be88269d 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParserCommon.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/parsing/MarkupParserCommon.scala
@@ -120,8 +120,7 @@ private[scala] trait MarkupParserCommon extends TokenTests {
 
     val buf: StringBuilder = new StringBuilder
 
-    while ({ buf.append(ch_returning_nextch)
-    ; isNameChar(ch)}) ()
+    while ({ buf.append(ch_returning_nextch); isNameChar(ch)}) ()
 
     if (buf.last == ':') {
       reportSyntaxError("name cannot end in ':'")
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/BasicTransformer.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/BasicTransformer.scala
index 999fe4b7..7ad543b4 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/BasicTransformer.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/BasicTransformer.scala
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ abstract class BasicTransformer extends (Node => Node) {
     else ns
 }
 
-  def transform(n: Node): Seq[Node] = {
+  def transform(n: Node): Seq[Node] =
     if (n.doTransform) n match {
       case Group(xs) => Group(transform(xs)) // un-group the hack Group tag
       case _ =>
@@ -53,7 +53,6 @@ abstract class BasicTransformer extends (Node => Node) {
         else Elem(n.prefix, n.label, n.attributes, n.scope, nch.isEmpty, nch: _*)
     }
     else n
-  }
 
   override def apply(n: Node): Node = {
     val seq: Seq[Node] = transform(n)
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/NestingTransformer.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/NestingTransformer.scala
index f0b7d69b..52ee1997 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/NestingTransformer.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/NestingTransformer.scala
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ package transform
 import scala.collection.Seq
 
 class NestingTransformer(rule: RewriteRule) extends BasicTransformer {
-  override def transform(n: Node): Seq[Node] = {
+  override def transform(n: Node): Seq[Node] =
     rule.transform(super.transform(n))
-  }
 }
diff --git a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/RuleTransformer.scala b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/RuleTransformer.scala
index 657b1b73..60288fb0 100644
--- a/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/RuleTransformer.scala
+++ b/shared/src/main/scala/scala/xml/transform/RuleTransformer.scala
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ import scala.collection.Seq
 
 class RuleTransformer(rules: RewriteRule*) extends BasicTransformer {
   private val transformers: Seq[NestingTransformer] = rules.map(new NestingTransformer(_))
-  override def transform(n: Node): Seq[Node] = {
+
+  override def transform(n: Node): Seq[Node] =
     if (transformers.isEmpty) n
     else transformers.tail.foldLeft(transformers.head.transform(n)) { (res, transformer) => transformer.transform(res) }
-  }
 }
diff --git a/shared/src/test/scala/scala/xml/AttributeTest.scala b/shared/src/test/scala/scala/xml/AttributeTest.scala
index 90804266..5f1a6134 100644
--- a/shared/src/test/scala/scala/xml/AttributeTest.scala
+++ b/shared/src/test/scala/scala/xml/AttributeTest.scala
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class AttributeTest {
 
     var appended: MetaData = x.append(x).append(x).append(x)
     var len: Int = 0
-    while (appended.ne(Null)) {
+    while (!appended.isNull) {
       appended = appended.next
       len = len + 1
     }