For years now, developers have been Java for Android development. But the limitations like being verbose, old, error-prone and slower modernization are making Java a less preferable option for Android app developers.
In May 2017, Google made an announcement that it would now start supporting a new programming language, Kotlin for Android development. This revolutionized the Android industry, ushering a new era of App development in Kotlin. Developed by JetBrains, Kotlin is a general purpose programming language, which compiles to the Java Virtual Machine byte code. Kotlin is the alternate to old and slow Java language.
Most of the Android app developers today are opting for Kotlin development as it precise in writing, comes with great IDE (Integrated Development Environment) and the most amazing part can be adopted into an existing Java code.
Not just this there are ample other reasons why you should opt for Kotlin as an alternate to Java for your Android app development
1. Open Source – When JetBrains developers worked on Kotlin, instead of keeping it an internal project, they opted for an open-source form. Being open source the language not only helps in Kotlin development but also supports core products developed in Kotlin.
2. Fully Interoperable with Java – Another superb thing about Kotlin is, it is 100% interoperable with Java. If you hire a Kotlin developer, then he/she can right away start implementing Kotlin in your existing Java project as you can have them in the same project. Also, you can call Kotlin code from Java or Java code from Kotlin.
3. Amazing IDE – JetBrains, being a well-established company specializes in offering the most used IDEs (Integrated Development Environment) all over the world. Almost every IDE features of Android Studio work finely and smoothly in Kotlin development.
4. Write Less and hassle free coding – You have to write everything in details while coding in Java but this is not the case with Kotlin. Here, the Kotlin compiler understands and writes a huge part of the code by itself. This helps in saving a lot of time and efforts of Android app developers.
5. An Enterprise Language – Unlike other languages, Kotlin does not has any research or academic background as JetBrains built it with the enterprise in their mind. The goal while developing it was not to create anything revolutionary but something usable and vital to modern enterprise developers.
6. Supported by Google – Google declared in 2017 in its I/O annual summit that Kotlin would be the officially supported Android language. After this announcement Android developers fearlessly, without risk of Google making changes in Android, used Kotlin for all their future app development endeavours.
By far you must have made your mind to switching to Kotlin from Java. But if not then the upcoming reasons or benefits of developing Android app in Kotlin will change your mind for sure.
7. Easy to Learn – This friendly language can be learnt in just a few hours. Someone who knows Java can read the language reference and learn this simple language seamlessly. Learning the advanced features of Kotlin may take some time though but it is not that difficult.
8. Not just Object Oriented but also a Functional Language – Kotlin has gained a cutting edge advantage over other languages like Java, JavaScript, C#, Scala and others. It consists of object-oriented as well as functional constructs and can be used in both the programming styles or mix various elements from the two.
9. Helpful in Server Side Development – As Kotlin is fully compatible with Java Virtual Machine, it seamlessly supports server side development. This superb language for Android app development allows usage of frameworks like Vert.x, Spring, Ktor, Kotlinx.html and more.
10. Null Safety – Kotlin development superbly offers null safety by eliminating the null references danger from the code. The system denies to compile code which tries to return or assign null. Thus one can easily get spared from NullPointerExpections.
11. Kotlin can use all the present Frameworks and Libraries of Java – Kotlin programs readily allows use of Framework and Libraries available in Java. Kotlin developers can integrate it with systems like Gradle, Maven and others.
12. Allows Extension of Functionalities – Like C# and Gosu, Android app developers can compose Kotlin functions with extensions and operators. Kotlin provides you with an extended ability to develop any class with new functionality without inheriting the class. Kotlin allows extending the functionalities of classes without even touching the existing code.
Conclusion
Kotlin is making the life of Android app developers a lot easier. Many well-known companies including Square, Pinterest, Basecamp and others are keen towards Kotlin and are using it to offer state-of-the-art services. So implement Kotlin to your existing Java code and experience the awesomeness of Kotlin by yourself. Hire Kotlin developers today for safer, stable and reliable codes of your Android app development