Java 7 is obsolete, oh I need another language that I can use to write android applications. Then, kotlin came from the island where it has learned so much about Java Development Kit, Java Runtime Environment, and Java Virtual Machine and building upon them have been able to come up with its own syntax that can accommodate the aged Java, add some syntactic sugar and its some coating make things difficult easier, forked process into processes, add some fun to the functions and shortened the codebase. All hail the Mighty Kotlin, able to do a lot with a little.
Now to the million dollar question, what is Kotlin? Kotlin is a JVM based language developed with Java developers in mind. This does not means the language is basically for Java developers but it was geared towards this developers to find more relevance in the mobile terrain.
Kotlin was developed by Jetbrains, the brains behind the infamous IDE (Integrated Development Environment). Hence, from the box kotlin comes with its own development environment alongside the Android studio. These environments are well acquainted with with kotlin syntaxes hence the language has its dictionary as well as its tools right out of the box.
If the language was targeted towards Java developers, it means it must have come with some benefits, and yes it does. These benefits includes:
- The language is more efficient and expressive, the implication of this is that more can be expressed with fewer lines of codes. The image below shows how to prompt user to input values in Java
The image below as well shows how to prompt a user to input data as well in kotlin. Comparing just this little action, it is obvious that you are doing the same thing in kotlin but now with fewer lines of codes
