In Scala you compare Strings with '==', not 'equals'

Scala String FAQ: How do you compare string equality in Scala?

In Scala you compare two Strings with the == operator. This is different than Java, where you compare two Strings with the equals method.

Here's a quick demonstration that shows this works. If you run the following Scala String tests in the Scala REPL or in your favorite IDE:

package tests

object StringEqualityTests {
  
  def main(args: Array[String]) {
    
    val s1 = "Hello"
    val s2 = "Hello"
    val s3 = "Goodbye"
    val s4:String = null
    val s5 = "H" + "ello"
    
    if (s1 == s2) println("s1 == s2, good")
    if (s1 == s3) println("s1 == s3, bad")
    if (s1 == s4) println("s1 == s4, bad")
    if (s1 == s5) println("s1 == s5, good")
  
  }

}

you'll get the following output:

s1 == s2, good
s1 == s5, good

If you review those tests, you'll see that this is correct.

I'll write more about how the Scala == operator (method, actually) works in the future, but for now just know that you can use == to compare two Strings in Scala.