Last year, the most important festival for Android app developers in the world, Google I/O, pushed the news that Kotlin will take the place of an official language for Android apps. This 8-year-old statically typed coding creation was set to join Java and C++ in the standard toolbox of Android app developers. Created by JetBrains’ Sankt Petersburg programming team, Kotlin runs on the Java virtual machine (JVM), and it is, in a way, very similar to Java, as it can be assembled to JavaScript source code.
It’s not difficult to imagine that developers’ primary concerns involved questions such as how easy would be to learn the new language and how would Kotlin supplement Java. Everyone wanted to know why Google chose to add Kotlin to the language mix – it must have had at least some advantages over the existing alternatives.
There is at least a theoretical possibility that Kotlin will become a universal language for iOS and Android apps, a fact that is of vital importance for any app development company creating Android apps, but that also has a good portion of iOS projects in progress. Now, everyone is getting even more interested in how to make the transition from Java to Kotlin as smooth as possible. It’s a burning question for developers, too, who have enough new skills to master as a regular part of the job in app development companies.
With the fact that it has proven advantages over Scala and Java, as well as being closely related to Swift, it is easy to understand why Kotlin is given the universality tag. What are some of the advantages of Koltin over its predecessors?
Perks of Kotlin for Android App Development
Greater precision is Kotlin’s most important perk. Java can not respond with the same precision level, and therefore opens the doors to more bugs. All that space-consuming code written by using standard coding phrases is not the best anti-bug protection. On the other hand, when the language is to-the-point, the end result is not only a cleaner code with less coding errors, but also a great energy-saver for app developers. Having said that, it will take at least two weeks for Java-accustomed developers to get the hang of Kotlin.
When a new ability is added to the skillset of app developers, no one likes spending more time learning it, than using it to actually code. That’s one question developers needn’t worry about. Kotlin has that aspect taken care of – its modules work great with present Java codes, frameworks and libraries. It is not a strictly functional and tight language that makes it impossible for previous codes to fit and get upgrades.
A key element that helps the smooth transition is its compatibility with Android Studio. This is not a big surprise, having in mind that Project Kotlin is a baby of JetBrains, the same people who stand behind IntelliJ IDEA, the base of Android Studio. Setting up Kotlin is as simple as setting up a couple of new menus.
Will Mobile App Developers Prefer Kotlin Over Swift?
It’s not only about Java. For specific functions, such as delegating classes and properties, Kotlin’s versatility is much better than Swift’s restrictions. For example, you can use Kotlin to define simple behaviors for properties by putting descriptive labels, or create property delegates. Some properties and modifiers in Swift have interchangeable functions, which means that Swift has more restrictions. Unlike Swift, Kotlin’s Garbage Collector helps developers spend less time thinking about memory resources. This is a tough task for Apple developers, who need to dedicate more time to planning memory and runtime.
The widespread acceptance of Kotlin has probably something to do with its official standing with Google. However, the language also offers further possibilities that include frontend and backend web development. The fact that big industry names and brands like Pinterest, Basecamp, and Square have taken it as their language of choice definitely adds points in favor of the language.
Make the shift toward the Kotlin slowly. With all the changes on the horizon, you don’t want to create extra chaos in the process of letting the projects in your app development company run smoothly.
Even if a universal coding language for all platforms is not a wise business move from the point of its creators, it can definitely help a developer stand out when building up a career in Android and iOS app development companies. As a plus, learning a multi-platform language code is a surefire way to greater personal productivity and happier teams.
Credit: Thank you Mike for you amazing insight into App Development and sharing it with us! – Fueled are an award winning mobile Design and Development company. Make sure and check out some of their work.
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