Pros & Cons of Using Kotlin

A cross-platform app development language, Kotlin has been declared by Google to be the official Android app development language in 2019 and a great alternative to Java. Unlike Java, Kotlin has eliminated and eased up some of the unnecessary steps and processes in app development. For instance, you no longer have to end every line with a semicolon.

Pros:

• Applications made with Kotlin are lightweight and seer away from taking up a lot of space in the user’s device.
• Its developmental time is less and it also takes very less time for compilation.
• Kotlin is secure against NullPointerException.
• You can also undertake web development with Kotlin as it incorporates coroutines and interoperability with Javascript.
• Numerous IDEs, including Android Studio and numerous additional SDK tools, support Kotlin. As a result, it can also increase the developer’s productivity because it can deal with their current toolkits continuously.
• Java and Kotlin can communicate with one another. With Java and numerous other comparable frameworks and technologies, Kotlin is steadfast. So moving to Kotlin is considerably simpler. If the product you’re developing can’t be written entirely in Kotlin, you can use the alternative and the two can work well together.

Cons:

• Being a fairly new programming language as compared to Java, Kotlin doesn’t have a great user base or support community to rely on when they face hiccups in the development process.
• As it is not well-established yet, Kotlin has very few developers in the market in its name and thus finding one for your project can be an uphill battle.
• Kotlin’s code can be complex to read as it matches weak patterns, unlike Java.
• Kotlin has a steep learning curve and requires switching teams due to its strict syntax.
• Even though Kotlin and Java share too many similarities, they also differ in some ways. If app developers lack sufficient Kotlin knowledge, they simply cannot make the transfer.

Conclusion:

Kotlin is extremely adept, built for ease of development and time effectiveness. It’s up to date and abreast with the latest advances in app development to give developers a great experience through and through. The biggest setback with Kotlin is the lack of developers in the market who use it. Being fairly new, it can be a hassle to find seasoned Kotlin programmers.

Kotlin is a great programming language, and weighing its pros and cons can help you decide to hire dedicated app developers adept in it.