title: scalac v javac and scala v java
body: <p>So, I understand how the scalac compiler is different from javac - looking at the bytecodes produced, they looked nothing like what javac would produce - e.g. a class without a constructor.</p>
  
  <p>But is the runtime any different than starting java with scala jars in the classpath? I am very certain but can someone confirm that the scala command is just a thin wrapper around java - after all they simply lauch a JRE / JDK.</p>