Open Classes

An open modifier on a class signals that the class is planned for extensions. Example:

// File Writer.scala
package p

open class Writer[T]:

   /** Sends to stdout, can be overridden */
   def send(x: T) = println(x)

   /** Sends all arguments using `send` */
   def sendAll(xs: T*) = xs.foreach(send)
end Writer

// File EncryptedWriter.scala
package p

class EncryptedWriter[T: Encryptable] extends Writer[T]:
   override def send(x: T) = super.send(encrypt(x))

An open class typically comes with some documentation that describes the internal calling patterns between methods of the class as well as hooks that can be overridden. We call this the extension contract of the class. It is different from the external contract between a class and its users.

Classes that are not open can still be extended, but only if at least one of two alternative conditions is met:

• The extending class is in the same source file as the extended class. In this case, the extension is usually an internal implementation matter.

• The language feature adhocExtensions is enabled for the extending class. This is typically enabled by an import clause in the source file of the extension:

  import scala.language.adhocExtensions
  

  Alternatively, the feature can be enabled by the compiler option -language:adhocExtensions. If the feature is not enabled, the compiler will issue a "feature" warning. For instance, if the open modifier on class Writer is dropped, compiling EncryptedWriter would produce a warning:

  -- Feature Warning: EncryptedWriter.scala:6:14 ----
    |class EncryptedWriter[T: Encryptable] extends Writer[T]
    |                                              ^
    |Unless class Writer is declared 'open', its extension
    | in a separate file should be enabled
    |by adding the import clause 'import scala.language.adhocExtensions'
    |or by setting the compiler option -language:adhocExtensions.
  

Motivation

When writing a class, there are three possible expectations of extensibility:

1. The class is intended to allow extensions. This means one should expect a carefully worked out and documented extension contract for the class.

2. Extensions of the class are forbidden, for instance to make correctness or security guarantees.

3. There is no firm decision either way. The class is not a priori intended for extensions, but if others find it useful to extend on an ad-hoc basis, let them go ahead. However, they are on their own in this case. There is no documented extension contract, and future versions of the class might break the extensions (by rearranging internal call patterns, for instance).

The three cases are clearly distinguished by using open for (1), final for (2) and no modifier for (3).

It is good practice to avoid ad-hoc extensions in a code base, since they tend to lead to fragile systems that are hard to evolve. But there are still some situations where these extensions are useful: for instance, to mock classes in tests, or to apply temporary patches that add features or fix bugs in library classes. That's why ad-hoc extensions are permitted, but only if there is an explicit opt-in via a language feature import.

Details

• open is a soft modifier. It is treated as a normal identifier unless it is in modifier position.
• An open class cannot be final or sealed.
• Traits or abstract classes are always open, so open is redundant for them.

Relationship with sealed

A class that is neither abstract nor open is similar to a sealed class: it can still be extended, but only in the same compilation unit. The difference is what happens if an extension of the class is attempted in another compilation unit. For a sealed class, this is an error, whereas for a simple non-open class, this is still permitted provided the adhocExtensions feature is enabled, and it gives a warning otherwise.

Migration

open is a new modifier in Scala 3. To allow cross compilation between Scala 2.13 and Scala 3.0 without warnings, the feature warning for ad-hoc extensions is produced only under -source future. It will be produced by default from Scala 3.1 on.