Is Kotlin the Better Option for Android App Development?

Statista shows that 50% of worldwide online traffic is generated through mobile phones. Some programmers love to code, create new things, and make people’s lives easier. But the time is here when it’s more comfortable and fun using modern-day programming languages. Kotlin is one such technology that can use with handheld devices. It was introduced by JetBrains in 2011 and is better than Java in every possible way. Technologies like AR, VR, Chatbots, and Kotlin have strengthened Android App Development. With this Android developers were confused as to which programming language acquires the best scenario in the future. Kotlin stands second after JavaScript, and the Android application is written in any language and runs on Java Virtual Machine.

What is Kotlin?

Kotlin is one such JVM compatible language that compiles Java bytecode and catches the attention of the Android Community. It’s a general-purpose language and 100% interoperable with Java. Kotlin can share app-cloud based services that offer a higher-level feature set like Google Firebase on the Android platform in the coming times. Kotlin works best for Android app developers as it helps to code easier.

Kotlin mainly uses programming language for Android, JVM, Browser, Native. The JVM version of Kotlin’s Library depends on the Java class library, which allows syntax to be more concise. It mainly targets JVM and compiles JavaScript.

Why Should We Use Kotlin Over Java for Android App Development?

Kotlin is more concise than Java: It’s one of the biggest advantages of Kotlin over Java. You can solve the big and complex problem within a few lines of code with Kotlin.

Interoperability with Java: It’s the main advantage where Java and Kotlin code can use in the same project. You can quickly call a Java method or class from the Kotlin code.

A safer way to code: Safe here means you can have fewer crashes as in Kotlin there are fewer lines of code. One of the biggest reasons to use Kotlin is apps are facing a major issue with crashing.

Robust compiler: One of the modern programming languages is Kotlin; it knows the problem of other languages. It is a powerful compiler and detect most exceptions at compile time and not run-time.

Easy to maintain: It takes a lot of effort and time to maintain the code performance and readability. Over time it becomes necessary to update the software and make changes in case failures in the software.

Increase in productivity: Kotlin works on the principle of write less and does more. With Kotlin, you don’t have to work on writing boilerplate code to do the job in a better way.

How Does the Kotlin App Development Approach Work?

We’ll see how easy it is to write code in Kotlin.

• The class name is Employee without any properties or user-defined constructors.
• Class with properties define immutable empID, mutable name, email, salary, and position.
• Create an instance of the class employee via the default constructor
• Access the properties like empID, name, email, salary, and position
• Update value of email property
• Check the Java approach by taking the same example:

Check output:

• Employee ID: 002
• Employee Name: Riya Tanna
• Employee Email id: Riya@xyz.com
• Employee Salary: 35000.0
• Employee Position: Software Engineer
• Updated Email Id: Mike

Check the Feature Comparison Between Kotlin and Java

Is Kotlin Going to Replace Java?

It is one of the most frequently asked questions, and the answer is no. We know that Kotlin has powerful features and so as Java. Both platforms bind together and treat us with their improved versions. They both go hand in hand and help android app developers to develop a beautiful application.

What to Know While Switching to Kotlin?

Before you switch to Kotlin, make sure you have a team ready for it. As it’s a new language so always introduce a learning curve. Aim to rewrite and optimize your project, so your team is prepared to launch a learning process.

To change the programming language is quite a tough job. As you may face a situation like deleting and merging particular classes. There may be a situation where product architecture damages the process. So, you need to ensure that mobile architecture can handle your switch easily.

Wrapping Up

In a short time, Kotlin has become a viable development option for Android developers. It has worked as the primary language for Android App Development, where Java works in the background and is also used in many projects. If you’re looking for expert advice on mobile development technologies, feel free to connect with us. We help companies across many sectors to make most of the Kotlin and Java works best for their mobile development projects.