Along with Java and C++, Kotlin is a programming language for Android. According to Google, more than 50% of professional Android app developers use Kotlin to develop their Android applications. Meaning that, it is one of the most loved programming languages worldwide. Besides, it is also expected that Kotlin may even change how Java is used on the server.
Means,if you are an android developer or going to develop android app, you must know the Kotlin programming language for effective apps development. The best advantage of Kotlin is lesser number of lines of code. Along with this, there are many more useful kotlin features that you should know if you are going to develop an android app. Here we’ll discuss those important features but before digging to it, let’s see the benefits of Kotlin over Java.
Kotlin is designed by JetBrains to overcome the challenges of Java. And hence, gradually it is replacing Java in ANDROID app development. Here’s a list of benefits of Kotlin over Java.
JetBrains has kept its language design clean and made the syntax simple. Besides, it takes very less time to write the code that improves the developer’s productivity. As an android developer, you should know these Top 7 Kotlin features that make android app faster, easier and error-free.
Each Java developer must have been frustrated by NPE (NullPointerException) at some point in time. Special Null value can be assigned to object reference and NullPointerException, a RuntimeException is thrown when a program tries to use object reference that has null value. Exception can prematurely terminate the program. As Java doesn’t provide any information about the object not created by developer has no null value, during the compilation time it put unnecessary pressure on java developer to keep the program null safe.
But when you use Kotlin, no need to worry about this. Kotlin has a null-safety feature at the starting age, that is by determining that values will be assigned to the null factor or not. Kotlin’s compiler is powered by null-safe feature which improves run-time Null Point Exceptions encounters.
Faster loading time is one of the most important criteria for any quality app and Kotlin’s lazy loading feature takes care of this. While using Kotlin for android development, this feature will help you to minimize the startup time for the app. It loads the initial content faster to reduce startup to reduce startup time while slowly leading other less necessary elements and contents down the page. Because of this lazy loading feature, android developers who work with Kotlin can just give the priority to the primary resources and keep them in main memory to ensure faster loading while keeping others or secondary resources in secondary memories.
Developers can use standard library functions offered by Kotlin programming language. It eases implementation of higher-order functions with idiomatic patterns like apply, let, use and so on. Also, it has lost of utilities to work with char and string sequences. Its Extension functions provide query operations for sequences and collections. Kotlin’s JDK classes made working convenient with IO, files, and threading.
The need of a class is always argued by programming language designers/makers. Generally, a data class in java contains huge boilerplate code that developers should skip so as to find out the real use of that class. However in Kotlin, Android developers can write the equivalent of the same Java code very simply with less code. So, data classes in Kotlin are known as one of the useful features.
String interpolation is done through string literals having placeholders that are assessed to achieve a result where placeholders are replaced with corresponding values. Mostly string handling in Java is difficult, that include the use of plus operators, String.format, and StringBuffer. The simple process of String interpolation in Kotlin becomes complex for Java developers.
Know the amazing IDEs and Text Editors at- Kotlin IDEs And Text Editors That You Must Know
Java developers must have an idea of processing object collections that are important in the Java app development process. This happens because Java objects get translated to various presented elements through this process. Mostly this causes a parallel stream of translated objects which results in slowing down the application. As a modern programming language, Kotlin handles this with immutable collections. Here, rich functional APIs will consequently return as the collections are characterized by the unique functionality..
Extensions of Kotlin are very useful, this is so because they allow developers to add methods to classes without changing source code. Similar to Scala’s implicit methods, in Kotlin developer can add methods on a per-user basis to classes. For instance, have you tried activity has some methods such as Hidekeyboard()? With extensions, developers can do it like this-
fun Activity.hideKeyboard(): Boolean { val view = currentFocus view?.let { val inputMethodManager = getSystemService(Context.INPUT_METHOD_SERVICE) as InputMethodManager return inputMethodManager.hideSoftInputFromWindow(view.windowToken, InputMethodManager.HIDE_NOT_ALWAYS) } return false }
Truth be told, with Kotlin extensions there is no need to have utility methods or classes, which can improve the readability of your code tremendously.
There are some features that Kotlin has but not Java, and so Kotlin is an ideal choice for android app development over Java.
Know the reasons to use Kotlin over Java at- Why You Should Use Kotlin Over Java?
Kotlin is one of the most preferred language for android applications development because of its amazing features that are mentioned above. If you’re thinking of building an android app, consult with solace experts. We are here to help you through consultation and development with Kotlin. Experts team at Solace are here to help you with the latest app development trends. You can hire android app developers of Solace team for an effective app development. Connect with solace team and get a free quote for feature rich app development. We will be happy to help you.