Kotlin
ExplainedProgramming language
Modern JVM language by JetBrains with null safety and a concise syntax. Officially recommended for Android.
Kotlin, explained
Written by EduVerseWhat it is
Kotlin is a statically typed language from JetBrains, the company behind IntelliJ IDEA. It runs on the JVM and works side by side with Java code in the same project, but needs far less boilerplate, and its type system separates values that can be null from values that can’t.
Why teams use it
Kotlin tackles familiar Java annoyances, most famously the NullPointerException, while keeping access to every Java library. Google made it the preferred language for Android, so current Android documentation and samples use it first. On the server it pairs well with Spring Boot, and teams can migrate from Java one file at a time.
An example from work
You open an Android project in Android Studio and the files end in .kt instead of .java. A line like val name: String? = null tells you name may be missing, and the compiler won’t let you call name.length until you handle that case, for example with ?. or an if check.
Our own explanation, not a quote from the book.
Where it fits
Android apps, server-side applications on the JVM
Coverage in the book
Explained and compared with alternatives, so you know where and why it’s used.
