Case Study: BrandAirport achieves simpler, maintainable print templates with Akka

Introducing Scala into a Java environment

BrandAirport, a leading provider of Marketing Resource Management systems in Sweden, needed to modernize its “Sign and Print Creation System.” Its existing Java EE-based template engine had become hard to understand and maintain, with complex template lifecycles, tight coupling between templates, and PDF-centric logic that made new template creation slow and error-prone. BrandAirport worked with Akka and Mejsla, using Akka/Typesafe technologies in a Java environment.

Akka helped BrandAirport implement a small Scala DSL for templates and a stateless functional approach to print generation, while keeping the existing Java templates working through a thin adapter. The new solution was much easier to maintain and test, and it enabled templates for one of Sweden’s largest retail chains to be built with only about one-tenth of the code previously required.

BrandAirport