Most of us are now familiar with the rapidly growing popularity of Kotlin. When compared with Java, Kotlin seems too young to dominate the world of Android app development. It has nonetheless become more prominent than Java in many ways. Kotlin app development services have lately seen soaring demands. And all these have happened within just a few after its first stable version was released. In 2017, Google announced support for Kotlin. Then last year, the tech titan enlisted Kotlin as a preferred programming language for Android. Thus, the journey for Kotlin has been exciting and fortuitous so far.

In this post, we will delve deeper into how — and why — Kotlin got here. Undoubtedly, Google’s support has helped a lot. But we must attribute this success to Kotlin’s characteristics features. From simple coding to Java compatibility, Kotlin is designed to be loved!

The language of choice for Android

Kotlin-based apps have reported a massive surge in Google Play Stores. The likes of Uber, Evernote, and Pinterest have moved to Kotlin. And these developments are likelier to prompt even more recognition among software development companies and app-based businesses. Be it native android app development or cross-platform apps, Kotlin is increasingly becoming the preferred language.

“Kotlin has become quite popular, especially since it’s been made the language of choice for Android development,” says Hadi Hariri, VP of Developer Advocacy at JetBrains, the creator of Kotlin. He describes Kotlin as a “multipurpose industrial language.” JetBrains is trying to make Kotlin more versatile by incorporating capabilities like data science, web frontend, and server-side native, and cross-platform capabilities, among other things.

Android app development is where Kotlin has succeeded more than any other area. It’s particularly popular in India, a leading app market where all solutions are built with a mobile-first approach. India has a 90% market share of Android. So virtually every app development project is Android. And Kotlin seems to be capitalizing on that.

Filling Java’s loopholes

Kotlin was organically conceived as a language to fill the gaps in Java programming capabilities. With simpler syntax, Kotlin is easy-to-use by design. However, it provides robust core capabilities despite simpler coding. According to some estimates, it reduces the length of code by around 40% when compared with Java. Another striking advantage over Java is that it deals with null point exceptions. This means your application is safe from potential crashes due to null point exceptions in Java.

Null point exceptions usually happen during the runtime of the code. It occurs specifically when variables are assigned to null values. The Kotlin platform is designed in a way that enables developers to write code that can create null point exceptions.

Interoperability with Java

Kotlin has 100% interoperability with Java. Developers can naturally use the existing Java code. And Kotlin code, too, can be used in Java. The interoperability, combined with other developer-friendly features, made Kotlin popular among developers as what they call ‘better Java’. Besides, for developers using Java, this interoperability means they can seamlessly migrate code. Since most Kotlin developers are Android app developers, they don’t have to worry about using Java code in Kotlin. A combination of Java and Kotlin lines of code creates better results.

Native App Development with Kotlin

App development for iOS and embedded devices demand a different coding approach. That’s where Kotlin/Native comes into play. It’s a technology for compiling Kotlin code to native binaries that can run without a virtual machine. This approach relies on a low-level virtual machine (LLMV). It’s a set of compiler and development tools to compile Kotlin code into machine-readable code. With LLMV, Kotlin/Native becomes faster. But the code should not have any Java dependencies. More and more developers are using Kotlin for native Android app development projects.

Kotlin/Native is used for developing native apps for devices like Android TV and IoT devices. However, many developers are yet to learn fully about the Kotlin/Native development approach.

Code Reuse for Efficiency

Kotlin saves a substantial amount of development time by enabling code reuse. Developers can use the Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile (KMM) to reuse code. You can use common Kotlin code for multiple development purposes. KMM allows you to share common code across an app for targeting different platforms like Android and iOS. You can hire Android app developers and ask them to reuse code for making the project more efficient using KMM. It can also target native desktop, and JavaScript, among other platforms.

Wrapping up

Kotlin’s emergence as the most preferred Android app development platform has been fueled by many factors. Be it simpler code, interoperability, or unique native app development capabilities, Kotlin stands out from others. It also offers remarkable improvements to server-side development.

The JVM enables developers to use a wide range of server-side technologies such as Spring, Quarkus, and Micronaut. At Android Developer, an Android app development company, we enthusiastically use Kotlin for a variety of projects. Being a technology-driven team, we are open to embracing new tools that make things better for clients. Follow our blogs to stay informed about all things Android.

FAQs

Q. How much does it cost to build a Kotlin app?

The costs of developing a Kotlin-based Android app depend on several factors. Design complexity, development time, type of features, etc. play an important role in calculating the costs. We build impeccable Kotlin apps at a competitive price.

Q. Is Kotlin better than Java?

Kotlin adds many improvements to Java’s app development process. It is being increasingly used by the Android app developers’ community. Kotlin can compile the code to JavaScript or native. It enables developers to build code that can run both on Android and iOS. It’s a statically typed language. Kotlin’s key features like built-in null safety support make apps flawless and user friendly.

Q. How do you handle a null pointer exception in Java?

To avoid the Null Pointer Exception in Java, you need to make sure that all the objects are initialized properly before you use them. When a reference variable is declared, you must verify that an object is not null.

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