Scala syntax bug?

I’m running into a weird situation in some Scala code I’m writing (more on why in a later post), and I’m curious to know from my Scala-ish followers if this is a bug or intentional/”by design”.

First of all, I can define a function that takes a variable argument list, like so:

    def varArgs(key:String, args:Any*) = {
      println(key)
      println(args)
      true
    }
    varArgs("Howdy")

And this is good.>

I can also write a function that returns a function, to be bound and invoked, like so:

    val good1 = (key:String) => {
      println(key)
      true
    }
    good1("Howdy")

And this also works.>

But when I try to combine these two, I get an interesting error:

    val bad3 = (key:String, args:Any*) => {
        println(key)
        println(args)
        true
    }
    bad3("Howdy", 1, 2.0, "3")

… which yields the following compilation error:

Envoy.scala:169: error: ')' expected but identifier found.
    val bad3 = (key:String, args:Any*) => {
                                    ^
one error found

… where the “^” is lined up on the “*” in the “args” parameter, in case the formatting isn’t clear.>

Now, I can get around this by using a named function and returning it as a partially-applied function:

    val good2 = {
      def inner(key:String, args:Any*) = {
        println(key)
        println(args)
        true
      }
      inner _
    }
    good2("Howdy", 1, 2.0, "3")

… but it’s a pain. Can somebody tell me why “bad3”, above, refuses to compile? Am I not getting the syntax right here, or is this a legit bug in teh compiler?>

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