Why should you learn Kotlin?
Tags: androiddev, android, appdevelopment
Published: 2020-11-27 09:34:45

---
title: Why should you learn Kotlin?
published: true
description: 
tags: #androiddev #android #appdevelopment
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/hpsav5d0umbjzmp9qe48.png
---

The world is enhancing day by day. 

For making enhancement you have to upgrade yourself by learning a new skill, exploring new domain, trying different technologies. 

As a developer, you also have to enhance yourself to survive in this technological world. 


####  “Over 50% of professional Android developers now use Kotlin, it’s been one of the most-loved languages two years running on Stack Overflow, and one of the fastest-growing on GitHub in the number of contributors.”“Over 50% of professional Android developers now use Kotlin, it’s been one of the most-loved languages two years running on Stack Overflow, and one of the fastest-growing on GitHub in the number of contributors.”

For the first time in history, in 2017, when Google announced that Kotlin is going to be used as a programming language to develop native android apps, no one assumed that in future this is going to be the most lovable programming language to develop a native app. 

Today, when someone has to build an android application, Kotlin has become their first choice. And, there is a reason behind that. 

In this blog, we are going to explore those reasons, why Kotlin have become the first choice and why should you learn Kotlin.

When Kotlin was introduced, its simple definition was that "**It's a better and modern version of Java**".

But, when the developer started using this language, the community started getting bigger than it's definition also changed.

Now we call it "**Kotlin is a cross-platform, statically typed, general-purpose programming language with type inference.**"

Here are the following reasons, why should you learn Kotlin:

1. **It is Interoperable** means you can, it can be turned into byte code before compilation. Because of this feature Kotlin code can run anywhere except IOS.

2. Like Java(platform independent language), **Kotlin can also be run on multi-platform** because of its conversion into byte code. 

3. **Kotlin's code can also be compiled into JavaScript to run on a web browser.**

4. **Java code can be converted into Kotlin and vice versa.**

5. **It is concise. You can write lots of things very concisely and clearly in less number of lines of code.** And, because of this, you can **build an application faster than ever before**.

6. **It is null-safe. It means that you will not be able to see null pointer exception by adopting Kotlin. **

**Tony Hoare call "null pointer exception" a billion dollar mistake.
**

Here are some **companies that use Kotlin for their apps:**

- Google
- Pinterest
- Square
- Trello
- Evernote
- Slack
- Tinder
- Netflix
- Airbnb
- Basecamp
- Zomato

Most of the above mentioned companies are using 100% Kotlin code into their apps.

Apart from Android App development, Kotlin is also used for Desktop App, Cross Platform App, Web apps, Server side developments.

There are tons of reasons to learn Kotlin, you just have to makeup your mind and start learning, start building.



Before you dive into Kotlin, please try to explore Java. It will become a lot easier for you if you start by having Java background. 

As you read above, Kotlin is a better and updated version of Java. So, it will be beneficial for you to understand Java before exploring Kotlin.



References: 

https://www.spec-india.com/blog/top-apps-built-with-kotlin
https://hinchman-amanda.medium.com/null-pointer-references-the-billion-dollar-mistake-1e616534d485