Incredible Kotlin Features to Enhance Android App Development Processes

Right from its inception, Kotlin has been extensively used by numerous Android developers across the globe to develop robust applications and mobile games. This programming language has been trending lately because of Android app development and other high-end technologies that are making their way into the app development process. Suppose you’re looking to hire kotlin developers; this article will show you how Kotlin facilitates Android app development processes and makes it an easier and more efficient process than ever before. You’ll also be shown how this language can be of great benefit to your company’s overall bottom line. Let’s dive in!

Annotation ProcessingAnnotations are a fantastic way to enrich your code with metadata that allows you to generate features at compile time or runtime. Annotation processing is a tool for enabling these annotations, but it also can be used for other things. Think of annotation processing as an additional build step, similar to ProGuard or DexGuard. Kotlin offers this feature out-of-the-box through their kapt plugin.

Null SafetyOne of Kotlin’s most notable features is its Null Safety. This allows you to use a variable without worrying about NullPointerExceptions (NPEs). I.e., let’s say that we want to find a local ice cream shop using Google Maps, but we don’t know where one is located. In Java, if no ice cream shops were found nearby and latitude and longitude are null values, then we would get an NPE. In Kotlin, even if latitude and longitude are null values, then there will be no issue with running our code because it has null safety built in to protect us from bugs like NPEs.

Extension FunctionsProgramming languages basically can be divided into two categories: static and dynamic. Dynamic languages allow their users to add methods to existing classes at runtime. Java, on the other hand, is a static language that doesn’t support these kinds of extensions. But with Kotlin, there’s an easy way around that limitation: extension functions. These functions are essentially ways of wrapping existing methods in an object so they can be used as if they were natively supported.

Type InferenceOne of Kotlin’s most useful features is type inference, which allows you to let your IDE do some work for you. Because it infers variables and their types, you don’t have to repeat yourself with every variable declaration—rather, they can just be automatically filled in by IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse. This saves a lot of time during programming but also has other benefits: if one value changes type (e.g., if an int becomes a String), all references become invalidated, saving more time and requiring less code.

Lambdas and ClosuresIn object-oriented programming, you’re probably used to defining methods on classes; in Kotlin, a method can also be defined inside an object. When you define a function within an object, that function is called a lambda. Lambdas are extremely useful for making your code more readable and easier to understand because they limit how deeply nested your functions must be.

Data ClassesYour data structures are made simple with Kotlin’s data classes. Your code becomes readable and self-explanatory with its primary constructors, properties, getters, and setters. Even your custom setters are automatically generated by using the ‘set’ keyword in front of it. Also, you can easily override them in subclasses. This is a really user-friendly feature that saves time while programming as well as makes it easy for others to read it later on.

ConclusionThe rise of Kotlin, a Java-like programming language, is making waves in mobile app development today. Given its similarity with Java, which is one of today’s most widely used programming languages, it has become increasingly popular for creating high-quality applications. But what makes it better than Java? In simple terms, it has more readable and concise syntax. Kotlin comes with more new features that can improve your productivity and boost your revenue by providing end-users an excellent experience.

Kristi is an IT consultant having years of experience.