Kotlin vs Java in Android Application Development considering features of individual languages and their impact in coding.
Following are the differences between Kotlin and Java in Android Application Development :
| Property | Java | Kotlin |
|---|---|---|
| Android Application Code | Not Concise | Relatively Concise |
| Handle NullPointerException | You have to explicitly handle this exception all the times | Kotlin Null Safety feature could be used or you may handle it explicitly. |
| Extend a class with new functionality | You may have to create a new class that extends the class and the new functionality should be added in new class. New class reference should be used in your code. It becomes messy. | Kotlin extension functions could be used to extend the functionality of a class and use the same class name in your code without and mess and fuss. |
| Handle high computation tasks without blocking UI thread | A background thread (like AsyncTask) has to be used. And if multiple such threads are background tasks are required, managing multiple threads may become difficult. | You may create coroutines. Coroutines perform high computationally tasks without blocking main thread, but suspending execution at a certain point. Coroutines being stackless, have a lower memory usage. |
| Checked Exceptions | You may need to catch and handle these exceptions. However, this may make your code robust. | Kotlin does not have checked Exception, hence no need to catch an exception. Code becomes clear and concise. |
| Multiple Inheritance | Not supported. | Kotlin’s Class Delegation could be used as an alternative to multiple inheritance. |
| Implicit widening conversion | Java supports implicit widening conversion like you may assign a byte value to an int, an int value to a double. | Kotlin does not support implicit widening conversion, Atleast as of now. You may need to type cast for any conversion. |
| Android Studio Support | An officially supported language. | Also, an officially supported language, latest addition to the list. |
| Data Classes | Getters, Setters, equals(), hashCode() and toString() have to be explicity written. | Getters, Setters, equals(), hashCode() and toString() are implicit. No need to write them separately. |
With these differences at a glance, you may choose either Kotlin or Java for Android Application Development.
Conclusion
In this Android Tutorial, we have presented the differences between Java and Kotlin for various aspects, to help choose a programming language for Android Application Development.