What makes Kotlin popular with mobile app developers? | Fission Labs
Mobile Application Development

What makes Kotlin popular with mobile app developers?

Fission Labs • August 21, 2020

With the emphatic improvement in the technical capabilities along with easy and economical access, smartphones have made their way to households. It is estimated that there are over 3.5 billion smartphone users in the world today and according to International Data Corporation (IDC), 86% are using Android OS operated phones.

With the ever-increasing Android OS operated mobile devices user base, building an app that fully supports and makes the best use of the Android OS platform capabilities is of utmost importance for any business. The better your app works on the Android OS, the better it is for your business.

In order to do so, among all other things involved in mobile app development, choosing the right programming language is very crucial.

While there are many programming languages to choose from, Kotlin takes the top spot when it comes to app development for Android.

Kotlin, Google’s general-purpose programming language developed by JetBrains in 2011 is built on world-class IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA, PhpStorm, App code, etc. It is a statically typed, open-source, and cross-platform programming language that may be used as an alternative to Java for Android App Development. Kotlin can interoperate with Java, and it runs on the Java Virtual Machine.

Let`s check what makes `Kotlin` tick and how it enables the development of a practical application:

It is efficient

Time is money and it spells out true for developers who are asked to build apps quickly and efficiently. However, debugging, removing errors, re-writing codes take up a lot of time, delaying the development process.

Kotlin is not only easy to learn and understand; it is extremely efficient when it comes to writing codes. Developers don’t have to spend a long time building an app as it reduces the code length by 20% as compared to Java. Also, the syntax is intuitive, and testing the codes takes little time.

It offers interoperability

Interoperability makes it easier for developers to run their java codes on Kotlin and vice versa. All they need to do is add Java class above the Kotlin project being built.

Kotlin offers 100% interoperability enabling developers to write code faster without any hassles, making development much easier. Kotlin uses Java library &amp; tools and offers backward compatibility for the 6 and 7 Java versions.

It has extension functions

Extension functions in Kotlin allow developers to add extra features to the existing applications without inheriting any data classes. Making it easy for them to release updates in shorter periods of time.

It has default parameters

When a developer passes arguments by name instead of index, the default parameters offered by Kotlin becomes extremely useful. It is especially helpful for developers who need to write long codes and when there is a function with lots of optional parameters.

It brings null safety

Null references in code can be a costly mistake for developers. And much to their relief, Kotlin aims to eliminate these null errors or references. With Java, developers need to use null reference exception when accessing it but Kotlin directly eliminates the Null Pointer Exception, thereby increasing data consistency. Null safety is considered to be one of the best advantages of using Kotlin.

It has a cast function

The smart cast function reduces the application’s speed and increases performance. The cast function identifies the type of function and performs all kinds of operations that have been coded for a particular type, thus increasing the overall efficiency. The smart cast function not only enhances the performance of an application but also saves a lot of time for the developer and decreases the time for an application to reach the market.

It involves less code

Kotlin programming language is not only less complex but it saves a lot of time of the developers as lengthy codes need not be written, unlike Java. The Kotlin compiler understands the written code and finishes off the remaining code, thereby increasing productivity.

It’s varied data classes

Time and again, developers argue about the need for separate data classes to identify a particular class. With Kotlin, the developer simply writes a code equivalent to the Java code but in a simple manner. This again saves a lot of time for the developer as he doesn’t have to write long lines of code.

With the above features, it is very clear why Kotlin is among the fastest-growing languages on GitHub. According to Stack Overflow Developers Survey 2020, 62.9% of developers are using Kotlin and have expressed interest in continuing with it. It’s the fourth most loved programming language according to the 2020 Stack Overflow Developer Survey. It comes with no surprise that it is one of the best programming languages to build an app.

Fission Labs is a technology innovation company that thrives to provide hassle-free solutions using the best technology around. The developers at Fission Labs use Kotlin to deliver quality mobile applications at a faster turnaround time. Their services include all the modern-age technologies like Web and Mobile development, Cloud Management Services, AI and ML-based solutions, Analytics and Data, Software Testing, and Salesforce.

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