Android app development, the name of technologies strikes our mind - Java, and Kotlin. Both of these languages are popular and known for their superior functions and features.
2. Android app development has been rising. The reason is that Android has
taken over smartphone operating systems in the world. With the rise in
demand, most businesses think about which programming app they should use
to build a leading and impactful mobile phone.
Whenever anyone talks of Android app development, the name of technologies
strikes our mind — Java, and Kotlin. Both of these languages are popular and
known for their superior functions and features. Kotlin can be used on android,
iOS applications as well as desktop apps.
You can use the existing skills and knowledge of Java. Java can also be used on
Android, iOS, and desktop apps, but the coding of Java makes it a bit
complicated. You need to hire android app developers from both companies.
The android app development company in the UK is one of the trending
companies in the world. Their cost is quite close to the global average.
3. 1. Easy to Use
Kotlin is very easy to use and learn. Kotlin comes with a good collection of tools
and IDE’s along with tutorials, making it easier for mobile application
development. If you hire android app developers from Kotlin for developing
applications, they will deliver your projects in less time. Kotlin allows kaolin which
is an interactive app for 3d learning for inspecting 3d data sets for Android app
development. Even beginner programmers can easily catch up with Kotlin.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Java is also easy to learn and understand. Java is a heavy language, which means
one needs to write more codes which increases the chance of errors and bugs.
One can learn it quickly with some effort. Learning Java is hard when you don’t
have any technical background, or you do not have the proper steps to learn
Java. Frameworks which are integrated into several platforms. This makes it
difficult for beginners, but with time Java is easy to learn.
4. 2. Cross-platform Development
Kotlin can run on multiple platforms. They can cross-compile. Therefore, Kotlin
has the feature of cross-platform development beyond mobile. Kotlin applications
can work on various operating systems like macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, and
others. Kotlin can be used to share common code between Android and iOS like
connectivity, busy logic, and many more. It is considered pragmatic.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Java is platform-independent since the Java compiler converts the source code to
byte code. The byte code can run on any platform using Java Virtual Machine.
Java is used mainly for developing enterprise applications. Therefore both Java
and Kotlin are platform-independent.
5. 3. Data Classes
Several classes under huge projects are meant to hold data. These classes have
little to no functionality. Still, a developer needs to write a lot of code in Java. A
developer is needed to define a constructor, several fields for storing the data
functions for each field and equals hashcode and toString functions.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Kotlin has a simple way of creating these classes. Only the data keyword is
needed to be included by the developer in the class definition, and the compiler
will take care of the entire task.
6. 4. High-order Functions and Lambdas
High-order functions in Java are made possible through Callables and Lambdas.
In Kotlin, they are pre-built. A higher function order takes functions as
parameters or returns a function. Lambdas are anonymous methods that are
important. At the same time, these are the few things worth knowing when it
comes to Kotlin.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Kotlin is a first-class function. The functions can be stored in data structures and
variables. These can be passed as arguments and returned from other high-order
functions. Kotlin is a statically typed programming language that makes use of a
wide range of function types for representing the functions. They come with a set
of specialized language constructs like lambda expressions.
7. 5. Null Safety
Java has let its developers with the feature if the null assigning value to any
variable. In case they try to use an object reference that has a null value, there
comes the NullPointer Exception.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
All types are non-nullable by default in Java, unlike Kotlin. If a developer tries to
assign or return a null in Kotlin code at the time of compiling, it will fail. When
assigning a null value to a variable in Kotlin, it is necessary to mark the variable as
nullable. This is fulfilled by adding a question mark after whatever is typed.
Therefore there are no Null pointers in Kotlin. In case you come across such an
exception, then it might be due to some external Java code, or you might have
explicitly assigned a null value.
8. 6. Coroutines
Until the operation is completed, the calling thread is blocked. Android is single-
threaded by default, so an application’s UI gets frozen when the main thread is
blocked. In Java, the solution provided is to create a background thread for
intensive work. Managing multiple threads leads to a rise in the completion of the
program, followed by errors in the code.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Kotlin allows for the creation of additional threads. As compared to Java, intensive
operations can be easily managed in Kotlin. This is known as coroutines. They are
stackless and demand less memory as compared to threads in Java. Coroutines
perform long-running and intensive tasks by refusing execution without blocking
any thread. It then resumes the execution after some time. It creates non-blocking
asynchronous code that is synchronous.
9. 7. Inline Functions
Every function in Kotlin and Java is an object. The object captures a closure. Both
the objects and classes call for the allocation of memory. Runtime overhead is
introduced with virtual calls along with classes and functions. To avoid additional
overhead, the lambda expressions can be inlined in Kotlin. One of the examples is
the lock function.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Java does not provide features for inline functions. However, the Java compiler is
capable of performing inlining. The reason for this is that subclasses cannot
override the final methods. At the time of compilation, the calls to the final
method are resolved.
10. 8. No Checked Exceptions
The checked exception feature in Java might be problematic sometimes. Checked
exceptions occur when the compiler forces the caller of the function to catch an
exception. Checked exceptions are unnecessary and cause empty catch blocks.
Non-existent checked exceptions are annoying for developers.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Kotlin features checked expressions that might cause problems. However, Kotlin
removes the checked exceptions completely. This minimizes the verbosity and
improves type safety.
11. 9. Interoperability
Collins’s core feature is interoperability. The project intends to utilize the existing
knowledge and expertise to make every library available to Kotlin programmers.
Simply writing modules in Kotlin can work flawlessly within existing Java code. By
removing the byte code, a Kotlin compiler allows two languages to work together
in the same project.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Java also can perform on multiple platforms. It has libraries to support this kind of
application development.
12. 10. Brevity
Most of the developers praise Kotlin for its conciseness. However, Java doesn’t
have this feature. Another important thing is that readability should always take
priority over concision. Kotlin simplifies the developer’s job and reduces the risk
of error but Kotlin does not practice concision. Boilerplate is a problem to read.
This leads to more bugs and more waste of time trying to identify them.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Therefore, Java provides a good concision and not good readability. At the same
time, the opposite happens in the case of Kotlin.
13. 11. App Crash
Kotlin uses fewer lines of code as compared to Java which uses bigger coding
lines. Less coding reduces overall development time. Less coding also supports
the maintenance needs.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
Since there is less surface area for the bugs to hide and the enhanced readability
of the language makes it easier for the developers to locate the bugs. This results
in fewer crashes and system failures. System failures occur in Kotlin, but it is less
compared to Java.
14. 12. Scalability
Java languages are not scalable. They are like C++. They get bloated and affect
the performance. This might create a disturbance. On the other hand, Kotlin has
a strong focus on scalability and its design.
Which is Better for Android App Development?
This improves the performance of the app by reducing bloat. Kotlin also gets
bloated and affects the performance sometimes, but it is a bit less as compared to
that of Java. It can be said that Java is better for large applications with lots of
features that can perform across all the platforms.
On the other hand, Kotlin is best where performance matters a lot. Kotlin has an
efficient design as compared to Java. It is also best for apps that need to maintain
platform independence and can be cross-compiled. Java cannot do this because
of its bytecode.
15. Both Kotlin and Java have their features. So the question of which one is better
depends upon your needs. Kotlin is the best choice if you are looking for a
language with solid support from Google.
Conclusion
However, Java might be the best option for you if you want an open-source
project with more flexibility. To use both languages efficiently, you need to hire
android app developers from both companies. By doing such, you can build
impactful applications.