Java Records vs Scala Case Classes

November 23, 2025 • sps23 • features

java scala records case-classes

One of the most beloved features of Scala is the case class. Java 16+ introduced Records, which provide similar functionality. Let’s compare them!

Scala Case Class

case class Person(name: String, age: Int)

// Usage
val person = Person("Alice", 30)
println(person.name)       // Alice
println(person)            // Person(Alice,30)
person.copy(age = 31)      // Person(Alice,31)

Java Record

public record Person(String name, int age) {}

// Usage
var person = new Person("Alice", 30);
System.out.println(person.name());  // Alice
System.out.println(person);         // Person[name=Alice, age=30]
// No built-in copy method, but you can create one

Key Differences

Feature	Scala Case Class	Java Record
Immutable	Yes	Yes
Auto-generated equals/hashCode	Yes	Yes
Auto-generated toString	Yes	Yes
Copy method	Built-in	Manual
Pattern matching	Yes	Yes (Java 21+)
Inheritance	Limited	No (final)

Pattern Matching Example

Scala:

person match {
  case Person(name, age) if age >= 18 => s"$name is an adult"
  case Person(name, _) => s"$name is a minor"
}

Java 21:

switch (person) {
    case Person(String name, int age) when age >= 18 -> name + " is an adult";
    case Person(String name, int age) -> name + " is a minor";
}

Conclusion

Java Records are a welcome addition for Scala developers. While they lack some features like the copy method, they provide a clean, concise way to define immutable data carriers.

Check out the java21 module for more examples!