With more and more Android app developers coming across Kotlin, a natural question that instantly hits their mind is whether they also need to learn Kotlin or not. The newcomers expecting to become an Android developer are too asking which one is better between Android and Kotlin.
Let us clear you in the very beginning. To become an Android developer, one needs to learn both Java and Kotlin. Of course Kotlin is a new technology for Android app and, it has many features and tools that Java still lacks for. But it’s going to be tough to begin learning Android app development merely with Kotlin.
Kotlin derives almost everything from Java. When coding an app using Kotlin, you will need Android Studio and using Java libraries. Without knowledge of Java, things are really going to be a bit harder; writing code without any previous experience in Java will make things difficult in the beginning.
But once you know Java and then begin Android app development in Kotlin. Here are some advantages you will instantly experience.
1. You will see the conciseness of Kotlin. This is one big advantage of the language. Java requires you to write lots of boilerplate code that consumes enough space and time. Here Kotlin helps a lot and does not require boilerplate code. In result things come out as clear, expressive and powerful that make the language more concise for Android app development.
2. Many developers may think that if Kotlin does not require them to write boilerplate code than Python is already an option. But then think about Java which runs on Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and executes the program compiled into byte code. Kotlin too runs on JVM and thus it’s also platform independent like Java. This freedom is not available with Python.
3. Java is secure but Kotlin would have more safety features in future. This is why Kotlin is a far better language than Java for Android app.
4. Another great advantage of the language over Java is its inter-operability with the existing Android programming and runtime. It means that a program can be called into the Java from Kotlin and from Kotlin into Java.
5. Kotlin is built by Jet Brains, whose IntelliJ IDEA software is already powering Android Studio. This forms an even equation for developers who can make various features and tools without any concern about the support because both technologies have been originated from single source and later adopted by Google.
Conclusion: The conclusion is that Kotlin is way more powerful, safer and advanced technology but things may feel a bit complicated and hard to grasp if you do not know Java at all. The advice is that you first learn basics of Java and then try your hands on Kotlin for your Android application development.
Author Bio: James Stewart is the technical writer of Mobilmindz that helps startups and enterprises in mobile technology and having a great experience in grocery app development, finance app development etc.
