Which One should opt for Android App Development- Java or Kotlin?
There is no doubt that Java ruled for a long time at a superior position when it came to the programming language & was considered as one of the most important tools for the android app development. However, Android developers got numerous other options as the programming language. Some of them included C#, JavaScript, C/C++ etc.
But, there is one specific statically composed programming language that has hoarded the spotlight and even Google I/O is concentrating on it. It is Kotlin, which was launched by JetBrains. In fact, the Google I/O has declared at a conference that they would make Kotlin as an authoritatively steady language for building up the android applications.
Sooner after this all-vital declaration, there was a goad and the specialists started to debate over which is better Java or Kotlin. One of the favorable circumstances that Kotlin also offers is that you can effectively be compiled and kept running on Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Here we are comparing Java or Kotlin and mentioning that why Android developers are going towards Kotlin over java.
Java:
Java is an object-oriented programming language, which is owned by Oracle. Being such a popular & old language, Java does much thing more than just android app development. Java lets you involve in many other kinds of stuff rather than only developing android apps. However, Java has gained specialty in android app development.
Here are some advantages & disadvantages of Java.
Advantages:
• Easy to learn & comprehend
• Flexible, so that you can run it in any browser
• Can be a great choice for hybrid app development
• As Android relies on Java, Android SDK contains many standard java libraries.
• Java is an open-source programming language.
• If we compare it to Kotlin, Java app is lighter but Kotlin includes complex computing process in its code, which can turn out the code to work slowly on user’s device with low technical specs.
• If we talk about the development speed, Java ensures faster build process than Kotlin.
Disadvantages:
• Due to limitations in Java, it causes problems with Android API design.
• As a wordy language, Java requires more code to write which carries a high risk of errors & bugs.
• It is slower because requires a lot of memory.
Kotlin:
Kotlin is a statically typed programming language for the JVM & JavaScript. Kotlin is a general-purpose language, incorporates functional features to support interoperability & intelligibility.
Kotlin is both object-oriented & functional programming language designed & developed by the Jet Brains. Kotlin offers support for higher-order functions, function types & lambdas, making it a great choice for functional programming.
Advantages:
• Got a lot of grip in Android app development, but it is also being used in backend projects such as Spring 5.
• Switching from Java to Kotlin is easy
• Includes smart extension functions to help in building clean APIs
• Has null in its type system — null ability problems are a common pain point in Java, and since Android often uses null to represent the absence of a value, Kotlin solves it by placing null directly in its type system;
• It is much more concise than Java, which means fewer opportunities for errors;
• Interoperable with Java — you can write new modules in Kotlin and be sure they will work alongside the existing Java code; Kotlin is compatible with all Java libraries and frameworks, the JVM, and can integrate with the Gradle or Maven build systems;
Disadvantages:
• Rather steep learning curve when switching entire teams to Kotlin due to the language’s concise syntax (both a blessing and a challenge);
• Slower compilation speed than Java
• Small developer community, which means limited learning resources and difficulty in finding answers to questions
• Experienced Kotlin developers are still infrequency, so finding a mentor for your team might be tricky.
• Android Studio’s auto-complete and compilation tends to run slower in comparison to pure Java project.
Conclusion:
Well, it can be said that it was an interesting comparison between the two most widely used programming languages for developing android apps. However, for the most part of the discussion, it was Kotlin who kept an outshining Java & that is why it is been seen as the future.
