Technologies

KOTLIN

Kotlin is a programming language for Android that became official in 2016. It was created by JetBrains as a convenient alternative to Java (the first programming language for Android) for developers, which means it is profitable for their customers. The creators took all the best from the basis and even the name Kotlin - a reference to the name of an island in the Gulf of Finland, like Java, an island in Indonesia.


In general, Kotlin for Android is like Swift for IOS - a young, powerful and easier language to learn than classic Java in terms of syntax and learning. You can write in Kotlin for all devices running on different versions of the Android OS, from proprietary builds of smartphones and tablets to laptops, TVs, smartwatches, and more unusual gadgets.

4 REASONS TO CHOOSE KOTLIN FOR YOUR ANDROID APP
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Demand and feedback

Nowadays, every second app in the PlayMarket is based on Kotlin. Examples: the Android versions of Uber, Atlassian, Pinterest, Evernote, and other popular software are written in Kotlin. Google is actively promoting the young language, helping Kotlin developers learn it from scratch or try new features. Programmers, in their turn, have been increasing the popularity of Kotlin for several years in a row, raising it higher in the list of the 5 best, simplest, and most popular programming languages.

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Easy to add unusual features

Android has always been and remains a more flexible OS than all Apple systems. With Kotlin, features from widgets to integrations with other apps that your developers can use open up many more possibilities for realizing the most unusual ideas.

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Comfortable applications for people

Programming in Kotlin allows you to create a customized, unique interface that still provides a user experience that meets expectations. For several years now, Android has been releasing guidelines for developers to help them make the interface compliant with Material Design rules, which means it is intuitive and gets good ratings from users.

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Low processor load

Android is the OS for flagship and very low-cost devices, and Kotlin, a language that allows you to distribute the load on the processor and operating system, enables your application to run quickly and stably on any gadget. The Lazy Loading function, which loads only the most necessary content of the program at first, shows the best aspects of Kotlin in action. The user does not need to wait long for all the data to load, he will start using the application almost immediately, and it will gradually pull up secondary resources unnoticed by the user.

WHY DEVELOPERS CHOOSE KOTLIN FOR ANDROID DEVELOPMENT
Open source code

Kotlin is an open-source programming language with an ever-growing community of developers. Your team of programmers won't have to write all the application functionality from scratch - you can find ready-made solutions in a common base and adapt them to your project. This increases the speed of development and also allows you to quickly report a bug to the language developers and get a fix.

Simple and readable code

The amount of code in Kotlin will be 40% less than when using Java, its syntax is much simpler and clearer, and the development itself is more consistent. This allows you to write programs, fix bugs, and add new features faster while working in a team.

Stability and security

Kotlin development is carried out in compliance with clear rules. The system is focused on detecting non-obvious errors, in particular, Null Pointer Exceptions, the main cause of Java bugs. In practice, the use of Kotlin is guaranteed to reduce the likelihood of an application crashing by 20%.

Interaction

If your developers have Java code, they can automatically convert it to Kotlin or use them together, combining modules with ready-made tools. All Java libraries and frameworks integrate perfectly with Kotlin. Thus, you can write a new program or extend the functionality of an existing program, while they will not complicate its operation and maintain stability. Moreover, each new version of Kotlin is backward compatible with the previous ones, which makes programming in Kotlin even easier - developers do not need to work with several versions at once and edit the code when a new one is released.

WHY IT IS PROFITABLE TO RELEASE AN APP ON ANDROID
Reaching the audience 1 / 3

Android smartphones alone account for more than 70% of the market. It doesn't matter if you write an application in kotlin or java, the number of its potential users is by default greater than those who will see and use iOS software. If you add tablets, TVs, and other gadgets to the mix, the share will be even higher. Yes, according to statistics, users of Apple products spend more in app stores, but with Android, you will make your product much more accessible and widespread, and you can also add various ways of monetization.

Threshold for entering the app store 2 / 3

While Apple checks each app manually for weeks and asks its owner to pay $100 or more annually for placement in the AppStore, PlayMarket does it automatically in a couple of minutes and charges $25 for everything once before publishing.

Fast development 3 / 3

Google is constantly simplifying and improving its operating system, as well as supporting developers by providing them with a development environment and tools. In 2020, development on Android, and even more so using Kotlin, is ten times faster than before and does not require large expenditures on software and hardware. Yes, testing and customizing an app for different Android versions and device diagonals will take more time than in the case of iOS, but these costs are not as high as the potential profit and audience reach. If you make an application for the current version of the OS, including its proprietary shells for Samsung, HTC, Xiaomi Meizu, Huawei, etc., you will be able to offer your project to 70% of users of smartphones and other Android gadgets.

Conclusion

Kotlin is a new standard for Android development. It is fast, convenient, and actively developing. With Kotlin, it's easy to write programs, even with unusual functionality, that work stably on hundreds of different devices and are user-friendly.