5 Solid Reasons Why You Should Start Using Kotlin For Android Development Today

What Is Kotlin? 

A decade ago, JetBrain looked for a concise, expressive, and elegant language that could be interoperable with JAVA. They wanted to create a less-verbose language by eliminating a certain amount of the boilerplate code. As Android app developers, we understand that the usage of boilerplate codes can sometimes increase the verbosity of the program and make it very lengthy. JetBrain wanted to alter that part of Java. So they came up with Kotlin – an open-source statically-typed programming language. 

In a way, the reason for developing Kotlin is to triumph over the shortcomings of Java.  It is a combination of functional and object-oriented programming features that is concise and statically-type. The type-inference allows its syntax to be concise, but it is still more expressive than Java. The primary reason why JetBrain made it interoperable with Java was that most of their products were Java-compatible. And they didn’t want Android application developers to go through the entire process again. 

Since its introduction in 2011, various websites have used Kotlin for their development process. And they have experienced phenomenal results.

5 Reasons Why You Must Use Kotlin For Android Development

  1) Say Hello To A Concise Syntax!

One of Kotlin’s superpowers is that it doesn’t make the developers write length codes. That is also a reason why developers migrate from Java to Kotlin. But why do developers love concise codes? Here is why;

• It eliminates the pain of writing lengthy codes and saves the developers time and energy.
• A concise code has fewer bugs and fewer crashes when you look at it from the UX perspective. 
• It is easy to maintain a concise code in case of any downtime or crashes. 
• It reduces the use of boilerplate code, thereby making the code bloat-free!

Kotlin’s concise code helps developers create the application quickly without worrying about the speed of the application. According to a rough estimate, Kotlin requires 40% fewer lines of code as compared to Java. 

2) Nullpointerexception

Learning from its competitor’s mistakes, Kotlin has removed the Null Pointer Exception (NPE) and saved a lot of the developer’s efforts and time.

NPE is perhaps the most common reason behind a majority of application crashes. Not only does it remove the null reference from the code, but it makes it challenging for the developers to fix NPE and protect your data using these null checks. 

So, even from a business owner’s point of view, in case your non-Kotlin application faces downtime, you might lose out on potential customers like your developers fix the issues. 

With Kotlin, you can rest assured that such contingency will not occur since it eliminates NPE since Null Safety comes built-in.

3) Interoperability With Java

Sometimes, change seems like a big task, and the fact that Java is interoperable with Kotlin makes it easier for developers to accept this change. Since it is interoperable with Java, switching to Kotlin midway will also not create any troubles for the application. The reason is simple – both the platforms use the same bytecode, making it easier for developers to switch. 

So, when you hire a Kotlin developer, you already know that their expertise lies in working with both the elements simultaneously and interoperably!

4) Seamless Integration With Android Studio

Not only does Kotlin seamlessly integrate with the Android Studio, but it also provides excellent support when it comes to tooling. All the excellent features work correctly in Kotlin, and you can also blend Kotlin and Java codes in the same project.

In fact, one cannot even compare the IDE support for Kotlin to other JVM-based languages since it is so superior. It offers this easy-breezy plugin that allows you to convert Java Files to Kotlin, hassle-free!

And it is times like these that tell you that maybe you don’t need to hire a Kotlin developer after all! But if you’re not versed with the language, then you might as well seek help. 

5) It Is A Versatile Platform

So Kotlin is a combination of cross-platform application development that can be used as a front-end language and can write Gradel files. 

Therefore, Kotlin is a versatile platform that shows a promising future to anybody that uses it. What is great about this platform is that the developer community did not have to put in extra effort to learn a different language to understand Kotlin. 

Since it began as a JVM, Java developers understood and adapted the process quite quickly. So when you consider hiring Kotlin developers, you already know that you’re getting the best of both worlds.

Wrapping Up 

To sum it up, Kotlin is created to remove the shortcomings that developers face in Java. It is undoubtedly challenging to bring in paradigm-altering changes in Java, so the makers decided to create something similar, something that functions with Java and one-ups it in many ways. 

To sum it up, Kotlin is a newer, lighter, more concise, flexible, and developer-friendly version of Java that can help the community save loads of time and yet produce a highly-functional application. 

Author Bio

Chaitanya Patel is an ardent writer at ZealousWeb and generates best-in-class posts on a wide range of digital marketing tools and techniques. He also produces well-researched and factual posts on various other topics. In his free time, you will either find him spending quality time with his loved ones or surfing over the internet for technical exposure.