Android app development has gained a never-before momentum. A Myriad of businesses is coming online every day. The customers’ inclination towards purchasing online products and preferring online stores over brick and mortar has necessitated the Android app development solutions even for small businesses. Whether you are a reseller, or manufacturer, whether you are from the fashion industry or IT industry, the need of the hour is on- demand Android app solutions.
Earlier, Android apps were built using Java and Android Studio. Let us tell you that Java is considered as a robust and reliable language for a stable release. The impressive capabilities of Java are used in Kotlin for giving all additional required features which are not possible otherwise.
On the other hand, Kotlin is a statically typed, general-purpose programming language. The language is developed by Jet brains for facilitating Android app development. Kotlin is more famous because it is a general-purpose, powerful, and robust programming language with many various features on the line. Kotlin also saves time because it eliminates the need of writing lengthy code. The language saves the effort of mobile app developers while making the line smoother and the process streamlined. You can build better apps with quick development process that is only possible with Kotlin.
Here in this article, we will get through why Kotlin is used by 60% of professional developers in terms of increased productivity, enhanced satisfaction, and secure coding. Let’s understand why companies prefer Kotlin for mobile app development services.
Table of Contents
Kotlin Setup
Kotlin is built by the same company, which is behind the development of IntelliJ. The tool gives better support to Kotlin, where the only requirement is just to install a plug-in for Kotlin. By installing the plug-in, you get the new option to convert Java into Kotlin. There are few sets of rules, which make the transition easier. You can create Kotlin code and use multiple extensions to save your time. This is possible using a plug-in for Gradle build.
Why Developers are Turning Their Heads to Kotlin?
The developer community is happier and satisfied with Kotlin. It has been seen that Android developer‘s satisfaction is 25% higher with Kotlin than using any other language.
Over 5.8 Million Developers
Kotlin is now used by more than 60% of Android developers around the world. Approximately, 80% of the top 1000 Android apps are built with Kotlin. The industry is leaned towards Android and hence, Kotlin is being used widely. Google too has adopted Kotlin for its operations and more than 60 apps by Google contain Kotlin for code.
Quality Assurance
Kotlin avoids the null pointer exceptions, which are known as the number one cause of app crashes. On Google play, the 1000 prominent apps have reported 20% less crashes with Kotlin. More proof comes from the Google home team, which saw a 33% decrement in NPE (Null pointer exception).
More Productivity
Developers are not limited to boilerplate coding. Kotlin developers spend less time in writing boilerplate code, offering less code. Around 67% of developers believe that Android app development solution with Kotlin is more productive.
Features of Kotlin
Kotlin is an open-source language with a powerful pragmatic approach for Android app development. Kotlin does not offer a package manager and build system. These are accomplished by Maven and Gradle. The language focuses on backward compatibility maintenance, on which the language decision is based upon. Kotlin supports Java 6 byte code, which supports many Android devices.
Let’s check out some more features of Kotlin Development as listed below:
Interoperability
The most prominent quality of Kotlin is the interoperability with Java. The meaning of interoperability is that you can get the Java code from Kotlin and vice versa. The byte code for both the languages is same, which signifies that you are doing the same thing at the machine level.
The amazing interoperability of Kotlin allows developers to code in Java and Kotlin, both in the same project. Suppose, if you are developing your Android project in Java, you can easily start writing the code in Kotlin later. You just need to learn the constructs and syntax of Kotlin. It is very beneficial for developers, where they can work on Kotlin and Java code together. This prevents the code from disturbance due to using two languages. Also, if you hire mobile app developers, it will be easy for them to make changes in code whenever needed, using Java or Kotlin.
No null pointer exception
The most common reason for an app being failed is the null pointer exception. You are working on an app and suddenly it crashes, it happens due to the Null pointer Exception. It takes sufficient time in eliminating this error from the app. While keeping your code safe from it, there is need of intent coding. Addressing the NPE is an important task and it requires working upon it soon. Older apps have been struggling with such exceptions and it is significant to solve this exception.
With Kotlin, you no need to worry about Null Pointer Exception. Kotlin offers protection while compiling, which saves the app from crashing.
Capable IDE and Support for Tools
The most important favorability issue of a programming language is solved by IDE support. If any language has some better IDE support, it is easier for them to deliver Android development solutions. Kotlin is built by Jet brains, a well-known company behind the development of IntelliJ. Jetbrains is known for building the best-integrated development environment. To start working on Kotlin, you just need to install the plug-in. Kotlin supports all features of Android studio. Therefore, you can also mix the features, and code of Kotlin and Java.
Whether you work on Java or Kotlin, that quality remains the same. Kotlin is the only language to offer IDE support. Android app developers prefer it, because it provides better quality while converting the Java file to Kotlin. You need to take a Java file and it translates the old Java file to the new Kotlin file in a jiff.
Less code
While developing Android app development solutions, developers often get enough of writing code. Kotlin saves you from the tiresome code and endless debugging. It is the reason why you should hire Android app developers more with Kotlin expertise than Java? When you convert Java files to Kotlin, it reduces the size. The code is more readable, and any amateur developer can get hands-on experienced with Kotlin. Kotlin is made crisp and concise language, which is why it is easy in syntax.
Enterprise-level language
Any mobile app is built to its fullest scope of expansion and Java is best known to build high-scale enterprise-level solutions. Java is considered as a top language in the market for enterprise solutions. Kotlin is similarly built to adopt the scalability of growing demands. Developers can build enterprise apps quickly with Kotlin.
Kotlin has no limits to research, because the programming language is built with high-level demands in mind. The programming language easily solves real-world software development problems. This powerful language Kotlin is not built from scratch because the inherent idea behind the development of Kotlin is to integrate the existing power of Java with some ease of coding.
Lazy loading
Kotlin features lazy loading, which decreases the startup time. Boosting startup time is necessary for Android app development companies. Hence, Kotlin is the best choice for developers who want to prevent delay and reduce startup time. When the startup time is reduced, the app content is displayed quickly to users. Lazy loading makes it possible by loading the required resources in the primary memory.
Data classes
Data classes are the skeleton of any code and while developing data classes, it often contains much boilerplate code, which is of no use for the majority of the operations. While coding, the developers need to ignore unusable code and discover the utilizable resources.
Java codes are given so much heavy load because it fits with the requirements of web development solutions as well. Android app development requires fewer intricacies; therefore Kotlin can give the same level of code within fewer lines. Data classes in Kotlin are helpful for developers in reducing time and complexity.
Filtering collection
While developing an app, there is need to filter the collection quite often. Collection may contain many objects, where filtering makes it possible to deliver only what is needed. App developers need to manage the collection while developing code for APIs. Kotlin app developers can use the collection filtering given in the language, which makes it simple to decide what a resulting list must contain.
Extension
A developer needs to edit the code repetitively while developing. Kotlin allows the development with the flexibility to add the methods to classes without actually making any change in source code. If you want to make changes in an older app developed with Java, and you hire Android app developers with coding skills in Kotlin, then the new developer can make changes to your existing code and can add methods to classes for different users. You don’t need to code the utility methods. This extension is beneficial for readability purposes and ease of modification.
Smart cast
App development is often revolved around making apps faster and performing better. Basically, the performance of an app is far important than speed. From the viewpoint of developers, Kotlin is also better, because it offers a smart cast feature. Smart cast focuses more on app performance by recognizing the function type. It improves the efficiency of coding, where you can count the length and execute tasks.
Low Cost
Kotlin is the primary demand of every entrepreneur willing to deliver the best mobile app development solutions. Kotlin is the open-source, general-purpose programming language, for which you need to purchase the license. While comparing Kotlin with other languages, the learning curve of Kotlin is not too steep.
Clean syntax
In the terms of code clarity, Kotlin takes over Java. With Kotlin, you need to type fewer lines of code. Few lines of code automatically feature fewer bugs and less probability of errors. Top Android app development companies are opting for Kotlin due to its easy readability, maintenance, and adoption of changes.
Extensive Library
Kotlin has a standard library to deal with different development requirements. You can implement the functions with much ease and use utilities for String and char arrays. You have extension functions for collections and overall coding is much easier in Kotlin.
End Words
In 2021, programming languages are evolving very fast. The battle between the programming languages is going tougher with the time. Both Java and Kotlin have their own benefits, and it depends upon the developers, how they utilize them. However, these both languages have disadvantages as well that need to be taken care of.
No matter who will win or take away the battle as there is a large user community that keeps shifting between both. For businesses, it is advisable to not make any perception with little knowledge or stale presumptions for app development solutions. It is better to hire an Android app development company and put your plan in front. Choose the most upbeat tool and enjoy a happy digital world.
