Kotlin vs Java Comparison: Which One is Better For You in 2022

New developers are often curious about which language is necessary to create apps for Android. Kotlin developers hope that Kotlin won’t adversely affect their app’s performance, their ability to recruit talented engineers, or their general productivity.

Android application development has become a regular trend for improving your company, which is the key to whether or not this programming language is successful. Java is the most accessible programming language, so more people tend to use it. However, Kotlin’s arrival led to a decline in Java’s popularity among developers.

As far as many reports go, Google didn’t have a great advantage with Java for Android. One could argue this. Kotlin emerged as the best solution. Take a look at this Kotlin Vs Java comparison.

What is Kotlin? 

The Kotlin programming language was developed as an inspiration for Java. As an advanced version of Java, it is clear that developers can write code in a more concise manner than Java. The data classes in Kotlin don’t require much effort for mobile app development. A statically-typed Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is what makes Kotlin a great open-source programming language, as well as a safe and secure computing environment.

What is Java?

The Java programming language is one of the most popular languages, allowing programmers to write & run everywhere. With this language, developers can develop software applications for a wide range of operating systems, display devices, and servers. Open-source languages are safe and secure, as they contain libraries maintained by companies like Google, Apache, and others that are well known and trusted.

Which to Choose: Kotlin Vs Java?

Kotlin Vs Java for Android? What’s best for your next Android application development? Android app developers need Java to build their apps on the go. The Android industry is, however, seeing new languages emerge as a replacement for Java.

Google has previously identified Kotlin as a “best-in-class” language for Android. These points will help us understand the difference between Kotlin Vs Java.

Volume & Coding

Compared to Java, Kotlin code loads faster. By using Kotlin, Android app developers can write code more efficiently and with less chance of making errors. As a result of Kotlin’s ease of use, it is preferred over Java when developing large mobile and web applications. Coding Kotlin is simpler than Java. Objects and classes that hold information don’t require constructors, nor do classes that store data or declared fields. Coding Kotlin takes less time than Java. Deployment and development become faster.

Data Classes

For your Android app to function, you need variables or fields where you can store information. In addition, you must create constructors, getter and setter methods, as well as equals(), hashCode(), and toString() methods.

Automating these processes is possible with Kotlin. The only word you must include in the definition is “data”. The compiler can create fields, such as setter, getter, and constructor, among others, automatically.

Popularity

Developers tend to prefer Java over Kotlin, according to Google Trends. Despite the ups and downs of Kotlin, Java remains far more popular than it was a year ago. The main reason for that is its longevity. Learning Java is also less cognitively intensive. Overall, Java is the language of choice.

Wildcards

Wildcard types cannot be used in Kotlin. Kotlin chooses declaration variance and type projections as wildcards. Java permits wildcards. The wildcard type is typically undefined. The Java type security policy governs the choice of Java-based codes in software.

Mature Libraries

Java offers many classes, APIs, and resources to assist Android developers. Newer Kotlin libraries, such as KTX or Coroutines, are catching up to Kotlin. Kotlin & Java Apps development is in its initial stages.

Null Safety

Among Java’s many shortcomings is the NullPointerException. NullPointerExceptions only occur when the user explicitly throws one. Data consistency problems can be caused by issues with the Java code, such as initialization problems. A NullPointerException prevents Kotlin from running.

When choosing between Kotlin and Java, hire an Android application development company who have excellent knowledge and expertise. 

Operator Overloading

Subtraction, addition, and division are some of the mathematical operators available in Kotlin. A quality check can be conducted using symbols with objects. Certain Java data types are used with mathematical operators in the Java language. With respect to Kotlin Vs Java in Operator Overloading, Kotlin is the winner over Java.

Stability

The stability is what allows us to see distinctions. We’ll start with Java. This is a longstanding language. There is extensive support for Java versions 8 and 11. Updates for Java versions are available via patches.

Kotlin is considered relatively young, despite its long history. A version is not yet officially available. We can consider Java and Kotlin as stable languages. When it comes to stability, Java is the best choice.

Performance

ByteCode runs on the JVM, which is also written in Kotlin. Measuring their memory consumption is however difficult. Assessing their performance is equally challenging. Compared to Java, Kotlin has more features. Kotlin Coroutines facilitate the development of multithreaded applications. Due to its rich feature set, it compiles & runs a little more slowly than Java. Although Kotlin is faster to compile, Java is much less complicated.

Last Say

Both languages are suitable for application development, but if you seek a language that is more suited for Android development, we would suggest Kotlin. Nonetheless, what happens if, in the upcoming years, there is a mobile operating system that surpasses Android? Learning Kotlin would be awful.

Hence, we suggest learning Java first, followed by Kotlin. You can now switch from Java to Kotlin easily, adding two additional languages to your toolbox. The scope of Java goes far beyond creating Android apps. Thus, if you have not done so yet, learn Java too.

Author’s Bio

Erma Winter is an expert app developer at MobileCoderz, an established Android Application Development Company. With 10 years of experience, she has worked with leading startups and renowned enterprises. Apart from the professional expertise, she loves to watch mystery movies and play football on weekends.