Java is the most widely used language for Android development, but that doesn’t mean it is always the best choice. Java is old, verbose, error-prone, and has been slow to modernize. Kotlin is a worthy alternative.
You can easily integrate Kotlin with Android studio. Android studio can convert Android java project to Kotlin.
Now is the time to start using this modern, sophisticated, pragmatic language for your Android development.
I was not interested in switching away from Java at first, but when I started looking into Kolin and took notice of the bigger picture, I changed my mind. Here are a few of my reasons:
- This is the first thing I loved about Kotlin. You can call Java code from Kotlin and vice-versa seamlessly. Both Kotlin and Java generate the same byte code, so there’s no fear that you’re shipping something completely different with Kotlin.
- Developers love clean, concise code. Less code takes less time to write, less time to read, and is less susceptible to bugs. But with Java, you must write a lot of code to get even the simplest things done. You’ve probably already experienced this if you’re an Android developer.
- Using Kotlin, you need not worry about NPEs because null safety is baked into Kotlin’s type system. It is so nice to catch NPEs at compile time instead of crashing apps at run time.
- Great IDE and tool support In Android Studio, all you have to do to get first class Kotlin support is install this plugin. It’s that simple. It also offers an Eclipse plugin, if you are still using Eclipse
- Write less code with Kotlin I write significantly less code than I ever wrote with Java. And fewer lines of code means smaller file sizes for Kotlin, compared to Java equivalents.
In Java just to perform an action on the click of a button.
view.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
}});
Now consider how you do it in Kotlin:
view.setOnClickListener {
}
Kotlin is a mature language, been through several years of alphas and betas until its final release. It makes Android development much easier. Kotlin opens up new possibilities for you to be creative in Android Development.
So Lets try Kotlin for your next app development, open Android Studio, download the plugin for Kotlin (works with Android Studio) and let me know what you think.
I hope this article will help you more in Android development. Feel free to leave comments below. Thank you.