A case class is a Scala language feature that provides concise syntax for defining immutable data structures with built-in support for pattern matching, structural equality, and automatic derivation of boilerplate methods. It is Scala's primary mechanism for creating algebraic data types within an object-oriented framework, enabling the expression of sum and product types through a syntax that is significantly more compact than equivalent constructions in Java or C++.
The feature has influenced language design beyond Scala: data classes in Kotlin, records in modern Java, and similar constructs in Rust all trace conceptual ancestry to Scala's case classes. The underlying insight — that immutable data with derived behavior should be trivial to declare — has become a standard feature in languages that take type safety seriously.