When developing Android apps, Java is the top option for Android developers. This programming language has been used for many years in the industry. But developers have always been looking for better alternatives for programming in Android app development.
But when JetBrains released Kotlin, a new phase started in Android development. Google adopted Kotlin as one of the preferred languages for creating Android apps. So what features make Kotlin a good choice for Android? This article will explain why developers should try Kotlin for their Android app development.
What is Kotlin?
Kotlin is a general-purpose and statically typed programming language. It is an open-source and cross-platform programming tool to create mobile apps for Android, iOS, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. Kotlin is built on an object-oriented model and designed to be interoperable with JVM (Java Virtual Machine) and Java libraries.
This feature of Kotlin allows developers to save time in writing code by reducing coding efforts and verbose size. Therefore, Kotlin suits best for Android app development. Android app development companies prefer this language due to its highly developer-friendly programming attributes.
Top reasons to choose Kotlin for Android app development
Java has been the main programming language for Android application development for many years. However, developers always needed a good alternative since Java lacks some capability to write code with better efficiency. And Kotlin fulfills developers’ requirements for writing code and programming efficiently and efficiently. So, let us look at the main reason that makes Kotlin the best choice for developing Android mobile apps.
1. Concise Coding
Coding with Java requires great effort and time since it requires many lines of code to be written in a definite sequence. As a result, it makes coding time-consuming. Whereas, Kotlin offers concise coding. It allows developers to write fewer lines of code and spend less time writing boilerplate code.
Code written with Kotlin language is expressive and easy to read with clear syntax. This helps you to hire Android app developers to solve complex problems quickly and efficiently. The ability of Kotlin to write smaller volume code eliminates the possibility of errors and offers a much faster app development.
2. Enterprise-scale technology
Kotlin, despite being a newer language in the Android app development market, still holds great acquisition for advanced and enterprise-scale requirements. Kotlin is used by Google and Android Studio as their top preferred programming language. Many big companies have used Kotlin to create enterprise-scale Android applications for various purposes. Since Android provides rich support to use Kotlin as the programming language, developers worldwide use it for Android app development.
3. Code security
NullPointerException (NPE) in Java is one of the most common reasons behind crashes in Android apps. Rectifying these errors is a time-consuming effort. This flaw in Java leaves scope for code security as well. But when using Kotlin, there is no lack of security in the code. It is because Kotlin avoids common efforts such as NullPointerExceptions. Its compiler also conducts multiple checks to eliminate possible errors and ensure the app doesn’t meet any crashes or coding vulnerabilities.
4. Java interoperability
Kotlin offers good interoperability support with Java programming language. Developers can use Kotlin functions in the existing Java project or vice versa. Instead of rewriting the Java application in Kotlin, they can mix and match the code per their requirements without breaking the app code. Therefore, Kotlin is highly useful and convenient for Android app development due to its extensive Java compatibility.
5. Cross-platform development support
Kotlin greatly supports cross-platform development, which is highly advantageous in Android. Since Java cannot reuse the same code for deploying the app to other platforms. Kotlin stands out as the best option for developing cross-platform Android mobile apps.
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It has easy-to-learn coding syntax and concepts. So it doesn’t require a second programming language at all. Kotlin offers support for JavaScript, Linux, Mac, Windows, and other OS platforms, so it is an effective and efficient technology for Android app development.
6. Faster and easier to use
Kotlin has quite a familiar coding syntax like Java, but it provides a more simplified programming structure. It is easy to implement and understand for developers who create native Android apps with Java programming. With reduced coding effort, developers create Android apps at a much faster and easier rate than native Android application development with Java. As a result, it helps app owners reduce the app’s cost and save resources and time efficiently.
7. Reduced costs
This is one of the top reasons businesses and developers prefer Kotlin for Android app development. Kotlin has a similar coding syntax to Java which comes with easy-to-implement programming attributes. In addition to this, Kotlin offers a cross-platform app development facility. So developers can reuse the same code and build apps for other mobile operating systems. As a result, it helps in reducing development efforts and time and, eventually, cost. Therefore, businesses widely choose Kotlin for Android app development due to its cost-efficient development support.
8. Easy to Set Up
Kotlin is extremely easy to set up. Previously, Developers have had to integrate a plug-in to use Kotlin into their Android app development projects. This process consumes a lot of unnecessary time and slows development speed. However, this thing gets much easier with Kotlin. Android Studio now has a dedicated in-built feature of ‘Support Kotlin Development.’ To set up Kotlin in Android Studio, developers must check the ‘Include Kotlin Support’ box while configuring the new Android project. Thus, Kotlin is easy to set up and allows developers to start a new project quickly.
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Final Thoughts
Kotlin is an extremely useful and beneficial programming language for Android development. It is easy to use and has immense developer-friendly features to quickly and cost-efficiently create high-quality mobile apps. Therefore, Kotlin is widely performed by developers and businesses around the globe for developing excellent apps for Android. So if you want to build a fully-functional Android app, you should look for a professional company that provides best-in-class Android app development services.
About the Author
Erma Winter is an Android developer at MobileCoderz-a leading web and mobile app development company that builds business-oriented mobile apps for Android and iOS. She has more than five years of experience in Java and Kotlin programming. She has delivered some of the top-performing Android apps for businesses and startups. Apart from her development life, She researches the latest market trends and creates developer tutorials.
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