In this tutorial, we’ll provide an overview of Kotlin as a programming language. We’ll explore its features, and benefits compared to other languages, and set up a Kotlin development environment in Android Studio. Kotlin is a modern programming language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It was developed by JetBrains with the goal of making development more concise, expressive, and safe. Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java, allowing developers to leverage existing Java libraries and frameworks seamlessly.

Features and Benefits

Concise Syntax: Kotlin offers a concise syntax that reduces boilerplate code and makes code more readable and expressive.

Null Safety: Kotlin includes built-in null safety features to help prevent null pointer exceptions, a common issue in many programming languages.

Extension Functions: Kotlin allows you to extend existing classes with new functions, providing greater flexibility and modularity.

Smart Casts: Kotlin’s smart cast feature eliminates the need for explicit typecasting in many scenarios, making the code more concise and readable.

Coroutines: Kotlin provides native support for coroutines, enabling asynchronous programming in a more structured and intuitive manner.

Interoperability with Java: Kotlin is fully interoperable with Java, meaning you can call Java code from Kotlin and vice versa seamlessly.

Setting Up Kotlin Development Environment

To start programming in Kotlin, we’ll set up a Kotlin development environment using Android Studio, a popular integrated development environment (IDE) for Android app development.

Download and install Android Studio, following the instructions for your operating system. Note this can take a while as there are many tools and libraries that are installed in the background. We will introduce these as we proceed through later tutorials.

• Open Android Studio and create a new project or open an existing project.
• Once your project is open, go to File -> New -> Kotlin File/Class to create a new Kotlin file or class.

Android Studio will automatically configure Kotlin for your project and provide Kotlin syntax highlighting and code completion.

Basic Syntax and Hello World program

Let’s dive into Kotlin’s basic syntax with a simple “Hello, World!” program:

In Kotlin, the main() function is the entry point of the program. The println() function is used to print the text “Hello, World!” to the console.

Kotlin Documentation and Resources

Now that you have a basic understanding of Kotlin and have set up your development environment, you’re ready to start exploring the language and building Kotlin applications. In the next tutorial, we’ll cover Kotlin’s variables, data types, control flow, and other fundamental concepts to help you write powerful and efficient code. Take your time to practice and experiment with Kotlin. Understanding the language’s features and benefits will empower you to develop robust applications.

That’s the second tutorial in the series. Next up is an introduction to Kotlin variables and types.