Kotlin is a modern, cross-platform, statically-typed programming language that was first introduced by JetBrains in 2011. It is designed to be more expressive, concise, and safe than Java, the language it was built to improve upon.
When it comes to Android app development, Kotlin is used as an alternative to Java. It is fully interoperable with Java, which means that Java code can call Kotlin code and vice versa. This allows developers to use the best features of both languages and it makes it easier to gradually migrate from Java to Kotlin.
Kotlin has several features that make it a more modern and efficient alternative to Java, such as:
- Concise and expressive syntax
- Null safety
- Extension functions
- Smart casts
- Coroutines
- Data classes
These features make it a more modern and efficient alternative to Java, which is why it has gained a lot of popularity and is widely used by developers.
Google officially announced in 2017 that Kotlin is an officially supported language for Android app development, which means that it is a viable option for android development, and many developers are using it to build android apps.
In summary, Kotlin is a modern, powerful and expressive programming language that is widely used for android app development as an alternative to Java. It offers many features that make it more modern and efficient than Java, and it’s fully interoperable with Java.