What is Kotlin? Guide to Kotlin Programming Language

Semicolons at the end of every line are not needed, although Kotlin does not have an issue if a developer uses them. Additional features reduce the complexity and length of code needed to achieve the end goal of a Kotlin team. Kotlin is often used for data science tasks, such as building data pipelines and putting machine learning models into production. Jupyter and Zeppelin, two popular data science tools used with Java, also support Kotlin. In 2020, JetBrains found in a survey of developers who use Kotlin that 56% were using Kotlin for mobile apps, while 47% were using it for a web back-end. Just over a third of all Kotlin developers said that they were migrating to Kotlin from another language.

what is kotlin language

You also explored what Kotlin is, and the history of the Kotlin language. You also learned about the features of the Kotlin language, its uses, and the companies that use the Kotlin language. The world’s leading streaming service Netflix used the Kotlin language to rebuild their UI player for the android app of Netflix. JetBrains, a company headquartered in the Czech Republic, developed Kotlin in St. Petersburg, Russia, with help from open source programmers. An Android developer might choose Java over Kotlin if they are new to Android software development. Historically, most examples of Android documentation are in Java.

What Is Kotlin Used For?

Still, you can also use Kotlin for front-end development using Kotlin/JS. A null in Java can crash a program if you haven’t prepared for it. In Kotlin, you can add a simple operator to variables that may how to hire a kotlin developer be null to prevent these crashes. Our Kotlin tutorial is designed to help beginners and professionals. Get exclusive info about community events, free resources, scholarship opportunities, and more…

what is kotlin language

The development of the Kotlin language was announced in the year 2011. The only cogent argument I have seen for choosing Java over Kotlin would be for the case of complete Android development newbies. For them, there might be a barrier to surmount given that, historically, most Android documentation and examples are in Java. On the other hand, converting Java to Kotlin in Android Studio is a simple matter of pasting the Java code into a Kotlin file. In 2022, six years after Kotlin 1.0, I’m not sure this documentation or example barrier still exists in any significant way.

Feature showdown

Operator also isn’t used because Kotlin automatically infers the data type. Integration with common Java build tools is supported including Apache Maven, Apache Ant, and Gradle. Kotlin provides support for higher-order functions and anonymous functions or lambdas. A script is a Kotlin source file (.kts) with top level executable code. All the subclasses of the sealed class are defined at compile time.

Cross-developed open-source coding platform which makes output faster and more efficient. Beginners can easily learn the most modern and compatible languages. The code is written is less, and the bug count is also less in Kotlin, and it also supports test-driven development which reduces the number of bug count.

Exercises and Quizzes

Once more, this feature makes Kotlin a more time-efficient programming language as compared to Java, which requires a lot of manual coding to be performed. This is another point where two programming language differs. In Java, such expressions are checked during the compilation process. If a method has such an expression, the method should either handle it or developers need to specify them with the keyword ‘throws’. When we talk about Android development, in-built null safety makes Kotlin an obvious leader.

  • With Java, it’s impossible to access certain content that may be incompatible with the device or equipment being used.
  • The Kotlin programming language was originally designed to improve the Java programming language and is often used in conjunction with Java.
  • It is quite easy to maintain and debug this language, so it is a good language to start with.
  • Interoperability is probably one of the most attractive features of the Kotlin programming language.
  • It’s clean, simple and carries fewer formalities and rules compared to Java.
  • Even if you make a mistake while writing the code, you can correct it immediately.

Even if you make a mistake while writing the code, you can correct it immediately. It is easy to maintain because of its shortcode and fewer bugs; hence, it can also be handled by a new team. It also supports multiple plugin’s, which makes one’s job much easier. Thus with these many uses, any programmer prefers this language. To get into the chatbot development, you’ll need to have a good command of these programming languages.

Classes are final by default

Scala, another language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine , was close to what he wanted, but it took too long to compile. Are you thinking about https://globalcloudteam.com/ pursuing a career in technology or computer science? Are you considering becoming a developer but stuck wondering, “what is a framework?”…

So the team decided to create a language that is compatible with Java and with all the features they wanted. Google announced Kotlin language as an official language for developing android applications in May 2017. After the announcement, the jobs for Kotlin increased in large numbers; since then, the job opportunities for Kotlin have doubled every three months as per Dice.

Improve your Coding Skills with Practice

The content is divided into various chapters that contain related topics with simple and useful examples. In fact, Kotlin gained popularity in 2019 when Google officially announced it as the preferred language for mobile app development in Android. It’s estimated that around 63% of android developers used Kotlin in 2022. The most popular libraries used in Kotlin include Kotest , Exposed , and Vaadin .

what is kotlin language

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