In the Android App Development field, Java has its own value that has to fade many times but never gets degrade. It established itself the most used and loved language by the developers for android applications. But in 2017, the whole theory has changed. With the release of Android Studio 3.0, Kotlin is using as an alternative to the standard Java compiler. And, in the Google I/O Developer Conference, the tech giant announced Kotlin as an official programming language for writing codes for Android apps.

Kotlin was developed at JetBrains in 2010 and it has been an open source since 2012. The feature associates both the object-oriented and functional programming features and provides tool support, safety and clarity.

Facts and Figures

• Google refer Kotlin as it is a modern programming language which will aim to improve a developer’s happiness and productivity.
• Kotlin has a collection of Android software elements called Jetpack that simplify the development of Android applications.
• Codes that are written in Kotlin generally require very less effort. You just deal with a lesser code to type, maintain or test.
• In its I/O 2019 Conference, Google announced Kotlin as its main language for writing codes for Android apps.
• In the most recent survey conducted by ‘Stack Overflow Developer’, Google declared Kotlin as the 4th most preferred programming language.
• Around 50% of the Android app development professionals are now using Kotlin language to develop their apps.
• Zomato and Pinterest like applications use Kotlin to write safer and concise code. It helped Zomato and Pinterest apps by reducing the line of code and locate important defects in their app at compile time.

Why Google Choose Kotlin as its Official Programming Language

Safe architecture

In Java, when developer accesses a part of the null reference, they get a null exception. This would be the biggest problem for Android developers. Kotlin removes the NullPointerException from the code and reducing the chances of the application crash.

Android apps written in Kotlin run faster

Kotlin uses inline functions that increase the execution speed of Lambda functions. Except this, Kotlin has compact runtime library which empowers the apps to run faster on users’ devices.

Kotlin is compact and concise

The class which is written in the Kotlin is much more compact and concise than Java. Thus, the lines of code to be written in Kotlin is also less than Java. This is one of the important reason for the growing popularity and acceptance of the Kotlin language.

Check-out: Kotlin vs Java comparison

The language is almost compatible with the Java programming language

For writing the code of Kotlin, Android developers used the number of Java libraries. Thus, developers are able to generate Java code from Kotlin with the help of converters offered by the company JetBrains.

Better support for functional programming

As strong as your language functional programming, the Android developer can have more chances to solve tuff tasks. In Kotlin, functional concepts can be used more concisely with suitable function types. Thus, it gives better support for functional programming in comparison to Java.

Increases the quality and also shrinks the base code

Sometimes, the developer adds some shortcuts in the application programming to reach the deadlines or other issues. This will reduce productivity and slows the development process. But Kotlin assures the use of proper codes and shrinks the code base.

Efficient coding with the help of IDEs

Kotlin contains robust IDEs as compared to Java. So, android app developers are able to write code more proficiently.

Satisfying Developers

According to the survey held on 2000 Java developers, they are very excited in using Kotlin and most of the developer are already satisfied with it. Google’s own survey declares the massive hike in the developers’ interest rate in the Kotlin.

Kotlin is developed well and most of the time its features will surprise the android developers. The thing which is seen to be impossible in Java, Kotlin makes it possible and make the Android app development much easier.