Kotlin ranked 4th in the list of most beloved languages in 2020 with 62.9% votes. In just three years, now the top 7.8% of the industry experts are using Kotlin. The top companies like Google, NetFlix, Amazon, and Trello use this language and leverage its benefits.
There's a good chance you already know how powerful this language can be. But if you're not sure why it's the most popular choice in the industry, then you've come to the right place. Below are some of the top reasons why Kotlin is the most preferred language among developers today.
The Top Benefits of Using Kotlin For App Development
One of Kotlin's defining features that separate it from other JVM languages like Java and Scala is its nullability checking. It means that values of a variable will either be null or hold an instance of an object/data type. Any variable in Kotlin can be declared nullable or non-nullable. The compiler won't allow you to specify a value to a non-nullable variable that has been marked as null.
So, if there is even a single chance of your variable being set to null, you need to declare it as such. While there may not be much use case for assigning variables with specific types but marking them as nullable, there are enough reasons why one should stick to non-null kinds throughout their application code.
Developers today need all sorts of skillsets. They're one of your biggest challenges as a developer, but they don't have to be. By following these best practices for avoiding them, you can keep your codebase healthy and maintainable.
If you get overwhelmed by null pointer exceptions, it might be time to take a step back and reevaluate some of your coding habits. Let's look at how we can prevent these pesky minor errors from throwing off our development process.
Programming languages can be broadly classified into declarative and imperative. Imperative programming deals with describing computation in a manner that focuses on procedure and how to perform tasks, while declarative programming deals with writing out results or what needs to be done for a certain outcome. Kotlin belongs to the former category and happens to be open source. Its increasing adoption by tech giants like Pinterest, Basecamp, and Uber is indicative of its rising popularity. The reason for choosing Kotlin over other mainstream programming languages lies in its code readability features. It helps developers write code faster while offering similar functionality as Java, which developers are already acquainted with. The learning curve associated with moving from Java to Kotlin is relatively tiny since syntax-wise, there are no significant changes between both languages. Finally, Kotlin code remains concise even when complex functionalities are due to DSLs (domain-specific language).
All in all, you can start developing a new feature, a mobile application, or a new website on your own. It doesn't have to be that difficult! Start your project today and hire Kotlin developers for it. There are so many good things about using Kotlin and Android Studio because they are very convenient.
