Now Android’s official programming language is Kotlin as announced in Google I/O 17. Of course, Google will provide the first class support to those Android app developers who are building apps with Kotlin. It simply means Java is slowly being pushed out of the frame. While many Android app developers are still using Java to code Android apps, there are certain reasons why Java would not be the best programming language for Android Studio.
- Java has come long way since its inception, but it’s still a procedural language.
- When comparing Java with other modern programming languages, it comes out to be as a clumsy choice.
- The key reason why the language is getting termination is to have the lack of lambda functions.
The top advantages why Android app developers would prefer Kotlin over Java
There are several programming languages that can run on JVM (Java Virtual Machine) but only have specialties like of Kotlin:
- Interchangeability with Java: Google knows Android app developers would not start using Kotlin over the night or in a month. They will also need to learn this new language. This is why the company provided the language the feature of interchangeability which means you can use Kotlin in place of Java and vice versa. You can use Java libraries and framework while project is based on Kotlin. So it’s possible to create a single app using both the languages.
- 20% less requirement of codes: Kotlin is an open source platform like Java, but developers can build apps faster with the use of Kotlin. It’s due to its easy and short syntax that requires 20% less coding as compares to Java.
- Eliminating the null references from the code. The most important feature of Kotlin is that it eliminates the null reference from the code. Java has this drawback of accessing a member of null reference, resulting in a null reference exception. But Kotlin’s type system distinguishes among references holding null and those that cannot hold null value.
- Excellent Android Studio Support: Both Kotlin and IntelliJ are developed by JetBrains. The Android Studio is based on IntelliJ and thus Kotlin already has excellent Android Studio Support. The support can be enabled just by opening the Kotlin plugin in Android Studio.
- Easy Learning Curve. Kotlin is also an enhancement to Java, not a complete rewrite or a replacement. This is why a Java based Android developer can easily upgrade him or her as a Kotlin based Android app developer. The skill a developer has acquired by being a Java developer will doubtlessly be helpful in Kotlin based projects. Kotlin has gentle learning curve as most of the Kotlin syntax feels familiar if you are already a Java developer.