Kotlin App Development is Ushering in the New Era of Android Apps

Kotlin is an open-source, general-purpose, statically-typed programming language that supports both object-oriented and functional programming. Conceived in 2010, it is not a new language and has seen explosive growth in the decade of its existence. In 2017, Google acknowledged Kotlin by making it the second official language for Android app development.

Kotlin app development has since then seen a monumental rise in demand in both the developer and enterprise community. Businesses now prefer to hire Kotlin developers to create their Android-based apps and in turn the language is proving to be a pragmatic, modern, and intuitive programming language.

A Kotlin Android development company introduces functional features to support Java interoperability. Kotlin app development promises heightened productivity for business apps. The goal of every Kotlin Android development company is to improve the coding experience in a way that is both practical and effective.

Why does Google prefer Kotlin as a primary language for Android app development?

Kotlin is an open-source language developed by JetBrains – a well-recognized development partner with Google. It received the recognition that it deserved when Google introduced Kotlin as an official language for Android app development along with Java and C++ at its annual I/O in 2017. Kotlin got quite a lot of support from the IDE. This was owing to the fact that JetBrains, the company behind Kotlin, also builds the core of Android Studio, i.e., IntelliJ.

The collaboration and support for Kotlin from both Google and JetBrains ensured that Android developers could easily migrate from Java to Kotlin app development without any hiccups. Soon, Android developers began to realize the benefits of Kotlin over Java and dedicated Kotlin Android development companies began to emerge to help businesses hire Kotlin developers who were adept at the language.

Kotlin provided several benefits, including:

1. Easy Coding: Developers could write concise, yet expressive codes in comparison to the long, complex, and verbose code in Java coding.
   
2. Less Problematic: A major point major complaint with every Java Android app developer was the NullPointerException. Kotlin addressed this issue by forcing developers to explicitly allow variables to be null and negate any such problems.

3. Easy Migration: It is generally hard for developers to migrate to new languages, especially when the language is as old as Java. This issue was taken care of and businesses could simply hire Kotlin developers to convert Java code directly into Kotlin.

The above key benefits and more eventually led more than half of the professional Android developers to switch to Kotlin and embrace the change. Kotlin is now regarded as one of the most-loved languages today by Android app developers all over the world.

Most businesses are switching to Kotlin app development from Java and believe that it is the right choice for their mobile product.

Redoing large portions of a project in a new programming language is a serious decision; however, Kotlin offers two indispensable reasons that impact the decision.

1. Reduced Project Timelines 

A lot of developers praise Kotlin for being concise. This is a quality Java is not known for. Kotlin’s brevity benefits mean the language can solve more problems with fewer lines of code. Kotlin’s concise nature allows developers to read and modify code more efficiently, which can effectively reduce a project’s time-to-market.

• Fewer App Crashes

Kotlin products use fewer lines of code compared to Java programs which are usually quite elaborate. Not only does less code reduce development time, but fewer lines of code also support maintenance needs. There is less surface area for bugs to hide and the enhanced readability of the language makes locating bugs easier for developers, resulting in fewer crashes and system failures.

Making The Switch From Java To Kotlin

There are two things to keep in mind when deciding if Kotlin is the right choice for business’s mobile product.

First, make sure that your product team is ready to make the switch. Introducing a new language, rewriting and optimizing your project requires a learning curve. It’s important to make sure your team is ready to adapt to any obstacles in the learning process.

Secondly, it is equally important to acknowledge the fact that the switch from Java to Kotlin will impact your existing architecture. Changing programming languages can lead to the deletion, creation,or merging of particular artifacts and classes. In some cases, it can even lead to the product’s architecture being damaged. It’s critical to ensure that your mobile architecture is expandable and can handle the evolution of your product.

The Road Ahead for Kotlin Android App Development for Your Business

While developers vouch for Kotlin for app development, Google does not intend to replace Java by introducing Kotlin.It might seem that Google is promoting the use of Kotlin in android app development, but it simply needs something to run along with the former.

Kotlin itself runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which is why for the end-user, the new programming language wouldn’t make much of a difference. Therefore it isn’t even fair to compare Kotlin with Java as it has happened lately. 

Kotlin is a Java-based programming language. You can have your Kotlin code converted into Java, and you will have your Kotlin code running on the JVM anyway. In two years, Kotlin has become a more stable and congruous development option for Android Studio. Some developers seem to believe that Kotlin will oust Java for Android development in the coming years. Other experts see Kotlin and Java coexisting without one outweighing the other.

Kotlin is specifically designed to improve existing Java models by offering solutions to API design deficiencies. Kotlin app development addresses a number of Java’s weaknesses.

The fact that Kotlin is one of the fastest growing programming languages cannot be disputed. In a span of mere 6 years, Kotlin managed to enter the Top 50 Programming languages in the TIOBE index. This itself shows the potential of Kotlin as a fun, productive programming language for developing android apps.

Kotlin became Google’s recommended choice for mobile app development as it was designed to be better than Java.Last year alone, roughly 4 million developers wrote in Kotlin code. With most of the major brands in the world starting to use Kotlin coupled, there has been an increased global attachment to the programming language among Android developers. Kotlin is quickly proving itself to be a superior programming language for mobile app development and presents developers with a wealth of opportunity to experiment with modern programming.

Overall, Kotlin is setting a new standard for what a programming language should be able to accomplish.

SUMMARY

Recently, Android app developers made a great shift to Kotlin. Know why? Well, given the many benefits of Kotlin, it is difficult to ignore this platform. Learn more about it, here.