The names that are there in the title are the ones that migrated their android application development language to Kotlin and got better results than ever.
In this article, we are going to understand why Kotlin is the framework that they chose and what are the benefits that they got from it. For those who are not properly aware of this programming language, it was first released in the year 2011 and is one of the most recent ones. It has grown rapidly because of the dedicated community of developers that it has. These developers make sure that they keep improving the frameworks. The last stable update was released just a few days back on 14th August this year. Kotlin is developed and designed by JetBrains. Kotlin is a static programming language that can be used for JVM (Java Virtual Machine) and JS (JavaScript). The syntax that is used is refreshing and comparatively easier to remember. People often compare it with Java but most of them don’t know that it is really easy to add the Java classes to any Kotlinproject to make it better.
The Ticket To The World Of Android Development
Kotlin might have been in the shadows for a long time but now it is being used the way it deserves to. The world might not know this but since 2017, even Google adopted it as its official base for android application development. The reason behind it is the features and the power that it provides to development companies. It is one of the best languages that companies can choose to develop android applications. The best reason for this is that this language is used by the company that developed android itself. There can’t be any bigger reason than that. 2017-2018 was the time when this language found its ground in the world. This was also the time when it was declared the official language of Android. There was a survey that revealed that before the 2017 Google conference, 20% of the applications that were developed with Java migrated to Kotlin. That statistic has changed a lot during the past three years.
How Kotlin Changed The Development Industry
Kotlin has changed the way applications were developed with its features and power. The language is easy to understand, the syntax is short and easy to remember, and there are a lot of predefined functions. That is something that most other programming languages don’t have. Java, the official language of Android before Kotlin, is not that easy to understand and implement. There are many things that developers have to practice a lot and only then are they able to present their minds. Kotlin eliminated the struggle that the developers have to go through when they want to convert their idea into the code. There are many features in Kotlin that make applications better than they were before. This is one of the major reasons why big companies like Pinterest, Uber, and others are migrating to this programming language. There are many on-demand food delivery app development projects that have used Kotlin as well.
The Reasons Why Kotlin Is Getting To The Top Spot And Becoming The First Choice For App Development
We have made it clear now that we are going to talk about how and why Kotlin is getting to the top in the category of android development languages. It will soon become the first choice for a lot of development companies. Though iOS development companies might not choose it, it will still do wonders for Android development companies. Android takes up more than 60 percent of the development market and if this language becomes the first choice for them, it will straight away win the market. There is nothing that will stop it from becoming the best language for Android development. The community of developers that it has has been constantly working and improving it. This is why they are in the position that they are even though the world has a lot of different development programming languages. Let’s understand the benefits that it provides:
1. It Improves Development Time By Improving Code Maintainability
Because their code maintainability is improved with updates, the speed of development has also increased. This is the reason why companies can now complete the projects in their deadline. This also means that the code will be written in a simple manner that the engineers can read without any problems. They will not have to put in extra effort as well. There are many features that are associated with this programming language. The language is concise, it has smart casts, data classes, properties, and type interface.
2. Reduces The Chances Of Application Crashes
Kotlin is a language that assures that an application will be safe and also rigid. The chances of these applications crashing are really low and that is because of this language. The android app development company can be assured that the software will work as expected. Also, it supports the fail-fast development style. This is something that will reduce the chances a lot.
3. Less Coding For The Easy Maintainability Of Apps
Coding with Kotlin is really easy. The programming language uses easy, small sentences. It will be really easy to develop or modify a project again if requirements change or the design requires some changes. There might be situations when both the content and the code need to be changed. This language will allow developers to solve the issue in no time. Developers also have to understand the code with the syntax of programming language.
Why Is The Industry Moving From Java To New Programming Languages Like Kotlin?
1. Influence From Big Names
Every small or medium android app development company is getting influenced by the big names that have migrated to Kotlin. The big ones have played it smart and improved their applications and eventually their business to a great extent. This has motivated other companies as well to take a chance and use Kotlin as their base of android development. This language has the power to take any normal application idea to another level. This language is also easy so that also reduces the efforts that the developers have to put in. Fewer efforts mean more creativity and that is always preferred by an android development company.
2. Developed Apps Are Concise
Applications that are developed through Kotlin are concise, which means that they are less in size but great in performance. This is something that any mobile app development company prefers. Big applications only get downloaded when they are really unique. Business-related applications need to be concise and should also perform well. These criteria are also important for applications to achieve a good reach and ranking in the search list of app stores. The algorithm prefers applications that have an easy code base and perform great. Else other things depend upon the developers. They need to make sure the application is not studded with features that are not important.
3. Better UX
The user interface has become really important for the modern application user. They want applications with simple UX that allows them to do whatever they want to do within the limits of the application. This is not possible in other languages than Kotlin. Kotlindeveloped applications that have a unique user interface and it works without any problem. The app market will have a great boom with this feature of this language in the coming future. UX is becoming more and more important with each passing day. App developers and designers are thinking of new ideas but it gets really tough to implement them using other android programming languages. This is why Kotlin is preferred over others when it comes to the development of UX.
4. Fail-Fast Development
Fail-fast development means that any error in the development process will be reported in the least possible time. This is something that is not possible with many other development languages. Kotlin wants developers to remove the errors at the earliest so that the developed product is clean and works well. This is something that will save time and ensure the quality of the application. For a mobile app development company that wants to meet all their deadlines and also give their clients the best, this is the best choice.
5. Breezy Development Process With Its Latest Update
The development process with Kotlin will become really smooth with Kotlin’s latest update. Like any other language in the world, Kotin has some problems. But the best part about them is that their community is active and just like the language, they are fast too. They make sure that the problems that developers are facing are resolved as soon as possible. There are also some new features that help development companies to work smoothly. This is a factor that impacts the quality of the developed software. When developers work without stress and put in efforts that give them good results, they will stay motivated. Other languages sometimes make development a very frustrating task.
Applications That Have Been Developed With Kotlin
We have discussed everything about the language, now let’s talk about the companies that chose it. These companies were the ones that trusted it and found it to be better than the others. The names that have been listed below are well-known around the world and if they found Kotlin to be better, then there has to be something good in it. Let’s know more about these companies:
1. Pinterest
Pinterest is a photo-sharing application. They are one of the most popular names in their genre and they officially moved from Java to Kotlin in the year 2016. And this turned out to be one of the greatest decisions that they made. The UX of the application, the usability, everything improved by a great notch. Pinterest is known around the world and has been going strong. Their android application is used more than the website because of the features and the ease of access.
Read the blog- Cost And Features To Develop Social Networking App Like Snapchat
2. Uber
Everyone knows Uber. Uber is an application that operates around the world. One of the most popular on-demand taxi applications, Uber has got great reviews for their application after they switched to Kotlin at their base. This has also solved a lot of the problems that users were facing before Kotlin. Also, Kotlin is safe and reliable, the application now runs smoothly without any major error. An on-demand app development company needs to choose Kotlin to make their application as good as Uber.
3. Evernote
This is a note-taking application that was also developed with Java initially before they moved to Kotlin. Evernote is one of the applications that realized soon that Kotlin will be better for their development stack.
4. Gradle
Gradle is an application that is used to develop android packages (.apk files) and that is something they do by providing the custom logic and managing dependencies that are needed to build the application. Just recently, they included Kotlin as the programming language for writing the scripts in their application. This turned out to be great and the users of the application appreciated the change. Their reviews also improved.
5. Shadowsocks
This is a cross-platform proxy server that is very secure. This is used by people who want to access the internet securely and privately. The application also switched to Kotlin and right now has more than 1,000,000 downloads.
6. Postmates
This is an on-demand delivery application that went with Kotlin for getting its Android application developed. The reason why they switched to Kotlin is that it supports scalability. This is something that many other application development companies wish to do too. Another reason why they preferred this over other languages is their fail-fast feature that is explained previously in this article. The on-demand app development company that developed this app also felt that it was better to choose this language.
7. Basecamp 3
The developer of this application accepted that they saw a great improvement in the quality of the application after they switched to Kotlin. This is something that influenced a lot of other applications to do the same.
8. Coursera
This education website is one of the best in their league and they have also switched to Kotlin for the best. Kotlin provided this application with a smooth interface and all the necessary features to keep improving the application.
Things To Consider Before Migrating To A New Programming Language
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Whether The App Is Ready For Migration
It is important to know if an application is ready for migration or not. Not all applications need to migrate. If the application is not working as per expectations or the existing programming language lacks something that the market wants, then the app can be migrated to a new language. If the existing programming language is working well for the application, then migration is not recommended. Though Kotlin is a great application, it takes time and extra money to migrate and that is not a good step for a business to take if it is not needed. If the company wants to migrate as Kotlin allows scalability, they need to do it when they have enough capital and time in their hand. Migration is important for companies that have a problem with the programming language that is in their Android Application development stack.
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That The Application Architecture Is Not Designed With Loosely Coupled Components
Check the architecture of the application. All the functions and their pointers should be defined properly and that is something that mostly creates problems. Test the application thoroughly with unit testing or any other testing method. There can be other ways to figure out the problems in architecture. This is something that is done by developers and no matter what programming language is used, developers will need to keep the architecture strong. If developers can find and fix all the pointers in the architecture in the Java application, there is no need to migrate the application to Kotlin. This is something that companies need to understand. All the companies that have migrated have faced problems with the features or the scalability of their existing programming language.
Final Few Words
Kotlin is one of the android programming languages that is strong enough to compete with the veteran programming language Java. No matter how many new languages came, none of them was strong enough to make applications migrate from Java. This language won everyone in the market. Big companies have paved the way for all other development companies to switch to Kotlin to improve their scalability and features. Also, it is important to ensure whether an application really needs migration to Kotlin. No matter how good or beneficial Kotlin is, there should be a strong reason for an application to migrate to it. The Kotlin application development industry can take it up as their first language. Android is improving and since Kotlin has become the official language of Google for android development, there will be even more improvements in it.
Developers and Kotlin application development companies have a great scope with this as it is easy to understand. It demands fewer efforts from their side to develop an application with no compromise in quality. No other language of this level has the caliber of developing an application that has many features and is still concise. Pinterest, Kickstarter, Square, Coursera, and Evernote are just a few big names that have migrated to this programming language. The reasons for this are pretty valid and these companies have also experienced improvements and gained more users on their application.