What Makes Kotlin Excellent Choice For Android App Development?
With the rise of Android app development in the industry, it is crucial to work with the right technology to get the best version of the app it. Conventionally, Java is used in every app development company, but this trend is gradually changing with the entrance of Kotlin. The first impression of Kotlin was not very good, just like other potential applications in the market.
After the announcement of Kotlin being the official language of Android application development at Google, there has been a tremendous increase in the demand for Kotlin.
Usually, Java is the most widely used language by any android app development company in the industry. But it’s a good thing if there is an alternative with better features. Java is error-prone, old, and is not modernized.
One of the most sensible approaches by Kotlin is that it does not include features such as the package manager or its own build system since tools Maven and Gradle can handle them pretty well. One more practical approach for Kotlin was that it did not re-implement the whole Java collections.
Furthermore, most of the language design decisions of Kotlin focused on maintaining backward compatibility with Android and Java projects. For instance, Kotlin can still support Java 6 bytecode as more than half of the Android devices run on it.
What is Kotlin?
Kotlin came into existence in July 2011 by JetBrains. It is a statically typed and JVM-based powerful cross-platform programming language. Months later, in February, this language was made open-source. JetBrains created two popular IDEs – Android Studio and IntelliJ Idea were created by JetBrains, and the letter was established as the Standard IDE by Google for Android development. They know the problems faced by the developers daily, and all of these were resolved after the introduction of Kotlin. It offers flexibility and can support numerous programming tools.
Difference between Kotlin and Java
- In terms of writing codes, code in Kotlin is concise and safer than Java code.
- Since it is possible for both Java and Kotlin files to coexist in Android Apps, it will help the applications to expand existing Java applications.
- For every, Android App Development Agency, the benefits of Kotlin can be tempting. Java developers can learn Kotlin a just a few hours. It is estimated that there is a 40% reduction in the code lines when working with Kotlin.
Business benefits of Kotlin
- Simplicity: Android app development companies have been using Java forever, but the road with Java has lots of bumps which makes it very complex for the developers. On the other hand, Kotlin makes it very comfortable for the developers in any Android app development company to work due to its easier and cleaner codes.
- Reduced project timeline: With the use of Kotlin, developers can modify the code with much more efficiency and less market time. Simply, it means that the mentioned language can solve problems with shorter lines of code as compared to other languages.
- Fewer app crashes: Working with Kotlin, the developers have to use a much lower number of lines of code as compared to Java. Not just the development time, it also reduces the debugging and maintenance requirements. It results in fewer errors and bugs. And this makes it easier for the developers and saves a lot of time and effort in resolving bugs.
- Cross-platform support: This is one of the major benefits we get with Kotlin. Since the world is advanced, there are genuine benefits you can get from cross-platform support. Therefore, consider the Android app development company that offers complete cross-platform development.
- Interoperable: The interoperability of Kotlin is the one that has been shifting the focus of developers from Java to Kotlin constantly. With that feature, it becomes possible to call java code from Kotlin and the other way round. It gives the advantage that you can start working on your existing project hassle-free with all the java code.
- Smart Cast Function: This is one of the most liked features of Kotlin by the developers. That’s because it can effectively reduce the application’s speed and the main focus is on enhancing the application’s performance. Talking about the working of the smart cast functions, it is to identify the function’s type. For example, suppose a developer is working on identifying a string. In that case, they will be able to do that with the help of a smart cast function, where they can count the length, copy the string and perform many other functions on the particular string.
- Open-source: Since it is open-source, you can be assured about the high quality. With that, developers can get access to the core development and endless support, allowing the developers to build high-quality applications.
- Reliable and safer: As far as safety is concerned, Kotlin is a lot safer than Java; it helps in reducing common code errors and reducing system failures with a better implementation. Additionally, it helps the developers implement robust code with less vulnerability to errors. This makes it safer than Java due to the mentioned improvement. Kotlin is also reliable. There are multiple programming languages, but Kotlin is the most refined one of all. After coming into existence, it was tested several times before the official release of its final public version.
- Multi-platform: Kotlin and many other devices run on JVM, which allows code-sharing between platforms through which it becomes possible to build applications on various platforms, including Desktop, Server Side, Browser, and Android, which helps save cost and time. The language receives the complete support of Windows, Android, Linux, JavaScript, etc.
- Enterprise Language: Kotlin was developed solely for enterprise developers. It was made with the intention to announce something useful and familiar in the market. JetBrains built it with the perspective of implementing practical, real-life solutions.
- Collection Filtering: When the developers are working with an API, often they have to deal with the collection. To assist with that, Kotlin has a collection filtering feature to make it easier to get the result.
- Both object-oriented and functional: One more reason that Kotlin rules over other programming languages is because of its killer combination of functional and object-oriented programming in one. This implies that the developers can combine the best elements from the two and bring them together to bring out the utmost excellence in the applications.
- Amazing tooling support and IDE: Kotlin has got prominent IDE support. The other JVM languages do not stand anywhere near Kotlin as long as it’s about IDE support. Every feature of Android Studio’s IDE works skillfully well in Kotlin. Also, it allows the merge of Java and Kotlin code within the same project with perfect working.
CONCLUSION:
Nowadays, almost every android app development company is transitioning to Kotlin quickly. It has been adopted in many industries, and as a result, there’s a high surge in demand for Kotlin developers. Kotlin has the potential to make life easier for developers. Considering the above-mentioned benefits of the language, it can be assumed how enriched it is with amazing features. Considering its many benefits, Kotlin will soon be leading with huge community support. If you want to fill your app with creativity and leading features, hire developers with knowledge and experience. Incorporating Kotlin will deliver innovative and amazing applications with a dedicated Android app development company.