"Java Web programmers are blessed with a plethora of choices when it comes to Web frameworks. Some might even say there are too many choices, if there can be such a thing. Where does Lift fit in? Lift is written in Scala, which is not Java. However, Scala compiles to Java byte code, but this is not some kind of emulated wrapper code, like you see with many dynamic languages that run on the JVM. Scala is a statically typed language and runs as fast "native" Java. This should be no surprise because Scala's creator also wrote the Java compiler. So with Scala, you get a much more expressive language than Java, but it runs on the JVM and runs as fast as Java. These are good ingredients for a Web framework — a powerful language that lets you write less code and is high on the performance scale at the same time.
"So Scala is great, but what about Lift? Lift takes great advantage of Scala. It works in any Java Web container, as it makes use of a standard Java servlet and servlet filter. Lift's snippets and models heavily exploit Scala's flexible syntax. Lift also makes Comet-style Ajax perform especially well thanks to Scala's actor-based concurrency system. Not convinced yet? Let's take a look at how easy it is to create a Web application using Lift."
