10 reasons to try Kotlin for Android development

Kotlin development is now supported by Android Studio by default, but why should you care? Here are 10 good reasons to give Kotlin a try!

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[manuelos]

1:51
Do programmers even do that???
coding under the light of the sun
it seems that he can barely see the screen with all the light

[RhexGomez]

OMG! you are writing imports manually. :P

[DiogoPereira]

Seriously... lets analyse all points on this video:
1 - Easy to setup
Java does not require setup... its already there by default

2 - Inter-operable with Java
Not really an advantage to current state

3 - Reduces boilerplate code
In my experience, a 200 lines of code in a Java activity, becomes 180. Is this difference worth for the added complexity of code maintenance? (will get into that later)

4 - Synthetic extension
Isn't this the same as Android Annotations?

5 - Picking programming philosophy
If you use this in company level, shouldn't you use something that everyone expect and understand? I mean, if you are working with android, aren't you expecting to work with OOP? I think will bring trouble in code maintenance.

6 - No more NPE
NPE are a result of programmer mistakes. Are preventable but I do understand that Kotlin might be an advantage comparing to Java.

7 - No ;
This is really not an advantage since Android Studio will show you a pretty red line if you don't. And really... how many times do you actually forget a ";"?

8 - No overheading on using Kotlin
Not and advantage, just pointing that there is no inconvenient on using Kotlin.

9 - Plenty of support
Certainly not better than an older language like Java.

10 - Learning new languages is a good thing
I do 100% agreed with this argument but it is not a reason on why using Kotlin on Android.

Conclusion
I only believe that the only advantage might be the NPE protection but i don't think it is a reason enough to start using Kotlin in Android Development.
IMO, Kotlin appeared because of business interest, not because it is better for developers. With Kotlin, Google can finally be free from Oracle.

I do recommend developers doing the following experiment:
1 - Make 2 android activities with a simple layout, like a view, button and an onclick event.
2 - Make one in Kotlin and another in Java.
3 - Ask a non-programmer to tell you what the Kotlin code does and what the Java code does.
4 - Ask him which one was simpler to understand.
My experience: Java is way more readable and easier to understand than Kotlin and, although I am not again new languages, I think Kotlin is not as good and people are painting it.

[DebabrataAcharya]

pro tip: stay away from people who prefer POP over OOP while developing in android, you don't need that kind of negativity in your life.

[foadysfah]

Having to go every day between Swift and Java (and back) made me instantly love Kotlin. It’s not a carbon copy of swift but takes out all the annoyances Java has. Good language I’m gonna invest some time in it and start writing all my Android code in Kotlin from the new year!

[Jaymoid]

How did you get so knowledgeable about Kotlin, yet the pronunciation of the word has escaped you?

[hueyPneutron]

This video is weird. You go from talking about reducing boilerplate, to explaining what OOP is, to null pointers. It seems like yall couldn't decide whether or not this video was for noobs or programmers

[georgiivanov]

No ';' required? That alone makes it worth switching to Kotlin lol.

[Latitube]

I have opposite opinion about no ';' required. There are already languages out there that do not require ';' but then the open source projects always recommend to end the line with ';' regardless because it enhance readability.

[MedyGames]

After learning some beginner java, I can already see from these few points mentioned in the video that kotlin will make things alot easier. I will totally look into it. Also I can totaklly see that no one would want to go back to java.

[SuperEvenSteven]

would like to see a follow-up video on the disadvantages of kotlin

[ericsison]

If you missed a semi colon in Android Studio, the IDE will help you locate where you missed it. So I don't see why you would write hundreds of lines of codes while missing one single semi colon if you use Java.

[shpresimmuja]

I think you could use C++ with the Android Ndk...

[jacobt.murphy]

The mispronunciation of kotlin in this video kills me.

[HarshitKumar-lgol]

It took me a while to understand that he said "null pointer exception". I was thinking what the hell is "no pointer exception" lol

[wallace]

Seems like people missed the point of this video. He got a GPD Pocket! 1:56

[AndyWicks]

This is an excellent overview. I have been programming for decades (do you remember punch cards?) and have been through many new paradigms. Your explanation of the advantages of Kotlin has convinced me that there is time to try one more before hanging up my keyboard. Thanks and thumbs up from me. :-)

[shreyaswaghmare]

3:55 is this true? I thought it incerases app size!

[pvarela]

At the beginning Kotlin is chocking.. then is rewarding.. I have been working with Kotlin for 4 days.. and I am starting to love it.

[moreplasticofficial]

Thank you alot for this video! I am studying computer science, and going on internship in a android app development firm, and this is just what i needed!