So, for complete beginners, learning Java might be an easier ride. The one clear argument for Java over Kotlin is that Java is more widely used and most Android documentation examples are in Java. It’s also safer, with inbuilt null safety a prime feature. It’s more lightweight, cleaner and more concise than Java, particularly when it comes to writing data classes and callbacks. Kotlin does pretty much everything Java does, but does it better. It’s now the second most popular JVM language, behind Java.

Kotlin’s audience grew steadily over the years until, in 2019, Google announced that Kotlin was its preferred language for Android app developers.

As most of their products were developed in Java, they decided to build a Java-based language that was more concise, while introducing new constructs such as high-order functions. Kotlin was built by software development tool creators JetBrains in 2010. Developers will soon be able to use it for macOS and iOS platforms too.Īs well as mobile and server-side applications, Kotlin is also being used for data science. It can be used for both server-side and client-side applications, both for web and Android. This includes 1.3 million active developers – people who edit code from one month to the next. How many people use Kotlin?Īn estimated 5 million people used Kotlin in 2021. Kotlin has both object-oriented and functional constructs, making it very flexible, with functional programming features such as higher-order functions, function types and lambdas. It’s also 100% interoperable with Java – all Java frameworks and libraries are compatible with Kotlin, so the two can co-exist. Inspired by Java, its USP is its simplicity and safety. Kotlin is an open-source, statistically typed programming language that’s designed to work on almost any platform, principally Android, JVM, JavaScript and Native. At a time when productivity is becoming increasingly important to innovators the world over, Kotlin takes the coding experience to a new place. Like a spiced-up Java, Kotlin is designed to hit the same notes as the classic programming language, while addressing all the flaws and limitations that make it unsuitable for the future. Since first hitting the scene in 2016, this open-source language has quickly built a reputation as one of the key pillars to the future of development.īut what exactly is Kotlin, will it eventually bury Java and do you need to learn it in 2022? Let’s find out. One of the hottest new programming languages, Kotlin is being prioritised by some of the world’s leading companies.

Kotlin languages