With the rise of Kotlin as a first-class language for development on the JVM, it's time for Java developers to start learning Kotlin. In this article, we'll go over the basics of Kotlin, how it compares to Java, and how to get started with it.
Kotlin is a statically-typed, general-purpose programming language that runs on the JVM. It was created by JetBrains, the company behind the IntelliJ IDEA, in 2010. Kotlin is fully compatible with Java, so you can use all existing Java libraries in your Kotlin projects.
Kotlin was designed to be a more concise, safe, and expressive language than Java. Kotlin code is often much shorter than equivalent Java code, and it eliminates many of the most common sources of errors, such as null pointer exceptions. Kotlin also has many advanced features that Java lacks, such as type inference, higher-order functions, and operator overloading.
To get started with Kotlin, you'll need to install the Kotlin plugin for your IDE. The Kotlin plugin is compatible with all major IDEs, including IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, and Visual Studio Code.
Once you've installed the Kotlin plugin, you can create a new Kotlin project in your IDE. Kotlin projects can be mixed with Java projects, so you can start by adding Kotlin files to an existing Java project.
To run a Kotlin program, you can use the Kotlin compiler, kotlinc. The Kotlin compiler can be invoked from the command line or from within your IDE.
Now that we've covered the basics of Kotlin, let's compare it to Java.
Kotlin is a more concise language than Java. Kotlin code is often 20-30% shorter than equivalent Java code.
Kotlin is a safer language than Java. Kotlin eliminates many common sources of errors, such as null pointer exceptions.
Kotlin is a more expressive language than Java. Kotlin has many language features that Java lacks, such as type inference, higher-order functions, and operator overloading.
In this article, we've covered the basics of Kotlin and how it compares to Java. To get started with Kotlin, you can install the Kotlin plugin for your IDE and create a new Kotlin project. Kotlin is a more concise, safe, and expressive language than Java, and it has many language features that Java lacks.