What is Kotlin?

Kotlin is a modern, trending programming language that was released in

2016 by JetBrains.

It has become very popular since it is compatible with Java (one of the most
popular programming languages out there), which means that Java code
(and libraries) can be used in Kotlin programs.

Kotlin is used for:

 Mobile applications (specially Android apps)

 Web development
 Server side applications
 Data science
 And much, much more!

Why Use Kotlin?

 Kotlin is fully compatible with Java
 Kotlin works on different platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Raspberry
Pi, etc.)
 Kotlin is concise and safe
 Kotlin is easy to learn, especially if you already know Java
 Kotlin is free to use
 Big community/support

Kotlin Syntax
In the previous chapter, we created a Kotlin file called Main.kt, and we used
the following code to print "Hello World" to the screen:

Example
fun main() {

println("Hello World")

}
 Example explained
The fun keyword is used to declare a function. A function is a block of code
designed to perform a particular task. In the example above, it declares
the main() function.

The main() function is something you will see in every Kotlin program. This
function is used to execute code. Any code inside the main() function's curly
brackets {} will be executed.

For example, the println() function is inside the main() function, meaning that
this will be executed. The println() function is used to output/print text, and
in our example it will output "Hello World".

Good To Know: In Kotlin, code statements do not have to end with a

semicolon (;)

Kotlin Variable
Variable refers to a memory location. It is used to store data. The data of variable can
be changed and reused depending on condition or on information passed to the
program.

Variable Declaration
Kotlin variable is declared using keyword var and val.

1. var language ="Java"

2. val salary = 30000

The difference between var and val is specified later on this page.

Here, variable language is String type and variable salary is Int type. We don't require
specifying the type of variable explicitly. Kotlin complier knows this by initilizer
expression ("Java" is a String and 30000 is an Int value). This is called type inference
in programming.

We can also explicitly specify the type of variable while declaring it.
1. var language: String ="Java"
2. val salary: Int = 30000

It is not necessary to initialize variable at the time of its declaration. Variable can be
initialized later on when the program is executed.

1. var language: String

2. ... ... ...
3. language = "Java"
4. val salary: Int
5. ... ... ...
6. salary = 30000

Difference between var and val

o var (Mutable variable): We can change the value of variable declared

using var keyword later in the program.
o val (Immutable variable): We cannot change the value of variable which is
declared using val keyword.

Example

1. var salary = 30000

2. salary = 40000 //execute

Here, the value of variable salary can be changed (from 30000 to 40000) because
variable salary is declared using var keyword.

1. val language = "Java"

2. language = "Kotlin" //Error

Here, we cannot re-assign the variable language from "Java" to "Kotlin" because the
variable is declared using val keyword.
 Kotlin Data Type
Data type (basic type) refers to type and size of data associated with variables and
functions. Data type is used for declaration of memory location of variable which
determines the features of data.

In Kotlin, everything is an object, which means we can call member function and
properties on any variable.

Kotlin built in data type are categorized as following different categories:

o Number
o Character
o Boolean
o Array
o String

Number Types
Number types of data are those which hold only number type data variables. It is
further categorized into different Integer and Floating point.

Data Type Bit Width (Size) Data Range

Byte 8 bit -128 to 127

Short 16 bit -32768 to 32767

Int 32 bit -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647

Long 64 bit -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to +9,223,372,036,854,775,807

Float 32 bit 1.40129846432481707e-45 to 3.40282346638528860e+38

Double 64 bit 4.94065645841246544e-324 to 1.79769313486231570e+308

Character (Char) Data Type

Characters are represented using the keyword Char. Char types are declared using
single quotes ('').
 Data Type Bit Width (Size) Data Range

Char 4 bit -128 to 127

Example

1. val value1 = 'A'

2. //or
3. val value2: Char
4. value2= 'A'

Boolean Data Types

Boolean data is represented using the type Boolean. It contains values either true or
false.

Data Type Bit Width (Size) Data Value

Boolean 1 bit true or false

Example

1. val flag = true

Array
Arrays in Kotlin are represented by the Array class. Arrays are created using library
function arrayOf() and Array() constructor. Array has get (), set() function, size
property as well as some other useful member functions.

Creating Array using library function arrayOf()

The arrayOf() function creates array of wrapper types. The item value are passed
inside arrayOf() function like arrayOf(1,2,3) which creates an array[1,2,3].

The elements of array are accessed through their index values (array[index]). Array
index are start from zero.
1. val id = arrayOf(1,2,3,4,5)
2. val firstId = id[0]
3. val lasted = id[id.size-1]

Creating Array using Array() constructor

Creating array using Array() constructor takes two arguments in Array() constructor:

1. First argument as a size of array, and

2. Second argument as the function, which is used to initialize and return the value of
array element given its index.

1. val asc = Array(5, { i -> i * 2 }) //asc[0,2,4,6,8]

String
String in Kotlin is represented by String class. String is immutable, which means we
cannot change the elements in String.

String declaration:

1. val text ="Hello, JavaTpoint"

Types of String
String are categorize into two types. These are:

1. Escaped String: Escape String is declared within double quote (" ") and may
contain escape characters like '\n', '\t', '\b' etc.

1. val text1 ="Hello, JavaTpoint"

2. //or
3. val text2 ="Hello, JavaTpoint\n"
4. //or
5. val text3 ="Hello, \nJavaTpoint"

2. Raw String: Row String is declared within triple quote (""" """). It provides facility
to declare String in new lines and contain multiple lines. Row String cannot contain
any escape character.

1. val text1 ="""

2. Welcome
3. To
4. JavaTpoint
5. """

Kotlin Type Conversion

Type conversion is a process in which one data type variable is converted into
another data type. In Kotlin, implicit conversion of smaller data type into larger data
type is not supported (as it supports in java). For example Int cannot be assigned into
Long or Double.

In Java
1. int value1 = 10;
2. long value2 = value1; //Valid code

In Kotlin
1. var value1 = 10
2. val value2: Long = value1 //Compile error, type mismatch

However in Kotlin, conversion is done by explicit in which smaller data type is

converted into larger data type and vice-versa. This is done by using helper function.

1. var value1 = 10
2. val value2: Long = value1.toLong()

The list of helper functions used for numeric conversion in Kotlin is given below:

o toByte()
o toShort()
o toInt()
 o toLong()
o toFloat()
o toDouble()
o toChar()

Kotlin Type Conversion Example

Let see an example to convert from Int to Long.

1. fun main(args : Array<String>) {

2. var value1 = 100
3. val value2: Long =value1.toLong()
4. println(value2)
5. }

We can also converse from larger data type to smaller data type.

1. fun main(args : Array<String>) {

2. var value1: Long = 200
3. val value2: Int =value1.toInt()
4. println(value2)
5. }

What you'll do
 Create a new Android project and a default app called HelloWorld.
 Create an emulator (a virtual device) so you can run your app on your computer.
 Run the HelloWorld app on virtual and physical devices.
 Explore the project layout.
 Explore the AndroidManifest.xml file.