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Java vs Kotlin

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Java vs Kotlin - A key comparison and difference of the topics or subjects that will help you understand which is best for your use case. Check out to compare Kotlin and Java as very common job interview questions.

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Difference between Java and Kotlin

Java Topic one in this side-by-side comparison.

12 comparison rows currently available on this page.

Kotlin Topic two in this side-by-side comparison.

Java Interview Online Test	Kotlin Interview Online Test
Creators: James Gosling and Mile Sheridan and now proprietary of Oracle.	Creators: Jet Brains and other contributors.
First Released Year: 1995	First Released Year: 2011
Key Features: Platform Independent Object-oriented Secure Robust Multithreaded Dynamic	Key Features: Highly efficient Interoperability Low adoption cost No runtime overhead Extension function
Null Safety: NullPointerException or NPE is one of the main drawbacks of Java, and the only possible reason for NPE is an explicit call to throw NullPointerException. Some of the data inconsistency related to initialization, or other issues caused by external Java code.	Null Safety: Kotlin avoids NullPointerException. Kotlin fails at compile-time whenever a NullPointerException may be thrown.
Data Classes: There are Data Classes which lead to the auto-generation of boilerplate like equals, hashCode, toString, getters/setters and much more.	Data Classes: The same can define concisely in one line. Example: data class Book(var title: String, var author: Author)
Extension Functions: Java does not provide such capability without inheritence.	Extension Functions: Kotlin allows us to extend the functionality of existing classes without inheriting from them. Kotlin provides the ability to develop a class with new functionality without having to inherit from the class. Extension functions do this.
Smart Casts: Java does not have such feature. We need to write the code explicitly apart from implicit casting.	Smart Casts: Kotlin compiler is intelligent. In many cases, one does not need to use explicit cast operators in Kotlin. Kotlin there is "is-checks" for immutable values, and inserts cast automatically when required.
Type Inference: For java, we need to provide each and every value with actual data type.	Type Inference: In Kotlin, there is a great thing that you donâ€™t have to specify the type of each variable explicitly. Example: fun main(args: Array < String > ) { val text = 10 println(text) }
Functional Programming: Java was not functional programming before Java 8 release.	Functional Programming: Kotlin is a functional programming language. Basically, Kotlin consists of many useful methods, which includes higher-order functions, lambda expressions, operator overloading, lazy evaluation, operator overloading and much more.
Pros: - Java is multiplatform and works on practically any device, server or operating system. - Java coding is robust, and it is impossible for Java instruction to corrupt memory or compromise data from other applications of OS X. - Java is object-oriented and makes it easy to create modular applications and reuse the parts that contribute to the robustness. - It is ready to use, and with Java, you will get a lot of third-part code ready to be used. - While comparing Kotlin vs Java performance, it to other languages, Java is easy to use, compiling and makes debugging and deploying even simpler. - Java is an open-source language that ensures safety since many of its libraries are managed by trusted companies like Google, Apache, and others.	Pros: - Kotlin Application Deployment is faster to compile, lightweight, and prevent applications from increasing size. - Any chunk of code written in Kotlin is much smaller compared to Java, as it is less verbose and less code means fewer bugs. - Kotlin compiles the code to a bytecode which can be executed in the JVM. Thus, all the libraries and frameworks made in Java can be moved and run in a Kotlin project. - Kotlin script can be used to configure projects in Android Studio for auto-completion aids, and it helps to reduce compile-time error detection. - Kotlin is safe against NullPointerException (The Billion Dollar Mistake ). - Kotlin incorporates coroutines, as well as interoperability with Javascript for web development.
Cons: - The syntax that Java uses can be a little complicated or cumbersome while comparing to Kotlin. - With Java, it is impossible to access certain content that may be incompatible with the device or equipment being used. - It isnâ€™t easy to access the new Java enhancements in mobile development. - There are times when Java causes problems with Android API design. - Test-Driven Development for Java requires writing more code and carries a much higher risk of programming errors and bugs. - Java is a bit slower compared to other programming languages and takes a lot of system memory.	Cons: - Kotlin is not so popular, and so the developer community is sparse compared to other well-established languages â€‹â€‹like Java. - Kotlin matches weak patterns, and initial code readability becomes a bit difficult to read and understand at first. - It has a small support community as Kotlin is younger than Java. Moreover, it has fewer libraries, blog posts and tutorials. - Kotlin has a steep learning curve, and switching teams to Kotlin because of languageâ€™s concise syntax can be a real challenge. - There are very few Kotlin developers available in the market. So, finding an experienced mentor is quite tricky.
Android: There are definite limitations within Java that impede Android API design.	Android: Kotlin has become a more stable and congruous development option for Android Studio. Kotlin is inherently lightweight, clean and far less verbose, especially in terms of writing callbacks, data classes, and getters/setters.

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