Kotlin Vs Java: The better programming language. A big debate!
Kotlin- The new beast in the world of development:
Java might be the first programming language used for Android Application Development but we now a competitor that might draw everyone’s attention, and that’s Kotlin!
Kotlin is a statically typed, general-purpose programming language especially designed for complete interoperation with Java and JavaScript. It is a really powerful programming language designed by Jetbrains. It mainly targets JVM but also compiles JavaScript using the LLVM compiler.
Kotlin was promulgated as a preferred programming language for Android Application Development by Google on the 7th of May 2019 and since then, this language is becoming even more popular among the developers. The prime focus of Kotlin is to aid mixed-language projects with better, precise, and powerful boilerplate code. However, a lot of people still prefer Java for Android Application Development and thereby making Java a prominent language in the programming industry.
How does Kotlin secure an edge over Java?
- The Brachylogy of Kotlin:
Kotlin is massively known for being concise, one of the important factors that give this powerful language an edge over Java. It reduces the boilerplate code up to a great extent which mitigates the risk of getting more errors as lesser the boilerplate code, more readable the code is.
Taking an example of the syntax for a data class written in Java and Kotlin to get a clear comparison:
Java Syntax :
public class ChapterTeamFragModel {private String ChapterName;private String ChapterFullForm;private int ChapPhoto;public ChapterTeamFragModel(){}public ChapterTeamFragModel(String chapname, String chapterfullform, int chapterphoto){ChapterName=chapname;ChapterFullForm=chapterfullform;ChapPhoto=chapterphoto;}public int getChapPhoto() { return ChapPhoto; }public String getChapterName() { return ChapterName; }public void setChapterFullForm(String chapterFullForm) { ChapterFullForm = chapterFullForm;
}public String getChapterFullForm() { return ChapterFullForm; }public void setChapterName(String chapterName) {
ChapterName = chapterName;
}public void setChapPhoto(int chapPhoto) {ChapPhoto = chapPhoto;}}
Kotlin Syntax :
data class ChapterTeamFragModel(val ChapterName :String , val ChapterFullform :String , val ChapPhoto :Int)The above example of code clearly highlights the brachylogy of Kotlin.
Other than this, the use of Delegates, KotlinLib, and One-line functions, no use of “findViewbyids”, a shorter code for “setOnClickListener” are some more examples that help in the reduction of the boilerplate code, making Kotlin a powerful language.
2. The Interoperability of Kotlin:
Interoperability is the foremost purpose of Kotlin. Since the beginning, the intension of introducing this language has been it’s interoperability with Java. Developers can efficiently write sections of code that are compatible for working with the existing Java code files in a project. By sharing the bytecode, a Kotlin compiler settles the two languages to function simultaneously.
3. It saves you from the Null Pointer Exceptions: The billion-dollar mistake!
Null pointers are frustrating and probably the biggest source of bugs in a project and a lot of time is squandered in the debugging process. This is where Kotlin comes into the rescue! Kotlin supports all data types as non-nullable by default, ie. the data types cannot hold a null value unlike Java, which gives Kotlin an upper hand.
4. No Raw Data Types:
Kotlin bestows a safer code by playing around with Generics while Java functions with the use of raw data types which might cause a compile-time error. Kotlin generics ensure Type Safety (only a single type of object is allowed at a time), Compile-time error safety, and that there is no need of Type Casting.
5. Getting Rid of checked exceptions!
If you are fed up with piling up try and catch blocks in your code, then this might gravitate you towards Kotlin. Kotlin does not have checked exceptions so no hassle of declaring exceptions. A lot of times, non-existent exceptions could be a little knotty so Kotlin eradicates checked exceptions completely which minimizes verbosity and improves Type Safety.
6. Functional Programming:
Kotlin reinforces object-oriented and functional programming. It consists of various useful functions like a wide collection of higher-order functions, lambdas, inline functions, lazy evaluation, lateinit variable initialization, etc. While Java doesn’t support functional programming but it supports the subset of Java 8 specifications during Android app development.
7. Co-Routines :
Long-running tasks can be dealt with Kotlin co-routines that suspends the execution at a certain point without blocking the thread and then resumes the operation later on some other thread. Coroutines are the recommended solution for asynchronous programming on Android. While Java uses the conventional method of creating a background thread to handle these operations and the management of multiple threads gets cumbersome.
The Adaptation — From Java to Kotlin :
If you are good at Java, switching to Kotlin will be a lot easier for you. The following things should be focused initially during a changeover to Kotlin :
1. Basic Syntax, of course.
2. Named arguments
3. Kotlin Generics
4. Data Classes
5. Null Safety and Safe calls
6. Smart Casts
7. Extension functions
The judgement of making a transition from Java to Kotlin should mainly depend on your will to adapt to a new language and explore the basics from scratch. If you are thinking of making a switch on an existing project, then you must figure out how your code structure and its organization will be impacted as this would require a lot of additions and deletions in your code.
Present scenario of Kotlin and it’s possible future:
Kotlin is not the new kid in town. It’s been there for a while now, though it was not ready for production until 2015. It was developed majorly for its interoperability, and boilerplate code reduction and other troubles caused while writing code. Presently, a majority of developers are still sticking to Java because of its massive popularity, their experience of coding in Java and also because of the huge amount of support available for the same but with mighty tech giants like Google, starting to use Kotlin, there is a huge possibility that people might make a transition to Kotlin entirely.
Is this the end of Java?
Although Kotlin is tremendously proving itself to have an edge over Java as far as its advantages are concerned, when it comes to choosing between the two languages, there is still a sense of ambivalence among the developers. Some prefer to stick to Java because of their experience and comfort with the language and them being critical of starting with a new language from scratch while a lot of people are gravitating towards exploring a powerful alternative to ease out their work keeping in mind the perks offered by Kotlin.
Concluding the debate with my opinion, I would say that Java is still a widely used and preferred language among a whole lot of developers and is here to persist in the industry for a longer time span due to its humungous amount of resources and documentation available for reference, although Kotlin will probably become an even more popular and widely used language any sooner.
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