When developing Android apps, developers find mainly two options- Kotlin and Java. No wonder Kotlin and Java are robust and functional and provide developers with various options for developing Android apps.
When we compare both Android app development programming languages, Java lost the Android battle to Kotlin. There are various advantages of Kotlin app development over Java for app development.
Here, in this blog, we will discuss the various advantages of Kotlin over Java in Android.
Advantages of Kotlin Over Java in Android- What are they?
-
Kotlin
Introduced in 2011 by JetBrains, it is an open-source, general-purpose programming language used for top-quality Android apps. In 2018, Kotlin was declared the official language for mobile app development.
Android app developers can integrate Kotlin with Java. That means they will get the benefits of Java, too, when working with Kotlin.
Moreover, Kotlin offers many exciting features, such as extension functions, lambdas, and coroutines.
-
Java
Introduced in 1995 by Sun Microsystems, Java is the most popular programming language for Android app development. Java comes with a vast library of third-party libraries and tools that allow developers to create even the most complex apps easily. With these libraries, developers get functionalities such as database access, user interface development, networking, and many more.
Many existing Android codebases and resources are written in Java, which allows developers to integrate and reuse code easily.
Are Kotlin and Java Similar?
Kotlin and Java share a lot of standard features and functionality. However, both programming languages are different and have their uniqueness.
Kotlin and Java both execute on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Developers can easily migrate Java projects to Kotlin and Kotlin projects to Java quickly.
Kotlin can be used for server-side, browser, and desktop programming, and it supports the JVM, Android, JavaScript, and Kotlin/Native. On the other hand, Java can be used for server-side, mobile, embedded systems, databases, front-end web applications, and enterprise applications.
Stats Showing Advantages of Kotlin Over Java in Android-
Let’s have a look at some stats and figures that show Kotlin is getting more attention from developers and offering more unique features to them in comparison to Java-
- Even though Kotlin has been around for a while, over 20% of the apps now available in the Play Store were created using it.
- An astounding 87% of the 500 most downloaded apps in the US were created using Kotlin.
- Today, Google and many developers rank Kotlin as the best option for developing Android apps.
Advantages of Kotlin Over Java in Android-
Why Should You Use Kotlin Over Java in Your Next Android App Development Project?
Here are some top reasons that show the advantages of Kotlin over Java in Android-
-
Kotlin Can Integrate With Java
One of the top advantages of using Kotlin over Java is that developers can easily integrate it with Java. If you want the functionality of both Java and Kotlin in your project, you can get it quickly.
Also, if you want to migrate your Java project to Kotlin, you can do it quickly without changing the entire project.
-
Kotlin is Easier
Developers always find the necessity of data classes. Java involves lots of code that takes work to know for the developers.
Conversely, Kotin is easier to learn and involves much less code. It is more concise than Java. With Kotlin, you can develop the Android app more easily and quickly.
-
Kotlin is More Popular
In recent years, Kotlin has gained massive popularity among Android app developers and users. As we have already mentioned, Kotlin is supported by Google, so it will continue to witness more improvement in the coming years.
In the last few years, Kotlin has maintained huge developers’ support. According to the reports, it is now used by 7.8% of Android app development experts.
-
Kotlin offers Cross-platform App Development.
Another advantage of Kotlin over Java in Android is its cross-platform app development approach. When developers work with Kotlin, they can create mobile apps for various platforms using a single codebase.
Java uses bytecode that can only be compiled for a single platform. So, Java developers must create separate apps for different platforms if they want the app to run on multiple platforms.
-
Functional Programming
Another advantage of Kotlin over Java is its support for functional programming. Kotlin was built from scratch to accommodate the ideas of functional programming. With the arrival of Java 8, developers have gotten some support for functional programming. But Java is still behind Kotlin for the support of functional programming.
Moreover, Kotlin also offers extension functions, higher-order functions, and lambda expressions.
Advantages of Kotlin Over Java in Android in a Table Format-
Here, we are presenting how Kotlin is better than Java for Android app development in a table format to help you understand the advantages of Kotlin over Java in Android-
| Features | Java | Kotlin |
| Primitive Type | Primitive types in Java are not objects. | Primitive types are objects. |
| Product | It is a product of Oracle Corporation. | It is a product of JetBrains. |
| Used For | It is used to develop stand-alone applications and enterprise applications. | It is used to develop server-side applications and android application development. |
| Casting | In Java, we need to identify and perform the casting. | Kotlin supports the smart cast, which means that it identifies the immutable type and performs implicit casting automatically. |
| Null Values | We can assign null values to variables but cannot assign null values to an object. | We cannot assign null values to any variable and objects. |
| Functional Programming | Java is not functional programming. | It is a combination of functional and procedural programming language. |
| Code Comparison | The line of code is just doubled than Kotlin. | It reduces the line of code to half. |
| Concise | The code is not concise in comparison to Kotlin. | It reduces the boilerplate code. |
Final Words:
Selecting between Java and Kotlin depends on various factors, including your project requirements, personal choices, business types, and many more.
Java will be a perfect choice if you are a newbie in Android app development or have excellent command. However, developers prefer Kotlin over Java as it offers several advantages regarding productivity, functionality, readability, and null safety. In the modern era, almost every project is built on Kotlin, and the existing projects are migrated to Kotlin.
Ultimately, we recommend choosing the Android app development language after analyzing all the factors. If you require any help, you can contact Mobulous.
Mobulous is a leading Android app development company with vast experience developing Android apps.
Visit Mobulous for Mobile App Development Services
Mail
: sales@mobulous.com Phone
: +91-9650100411
