Kotlin vs Java Performance – Which is Better for Android Project?

With 88% of the market share, most mobile applications are developed for the android platform worldwide. Presently, more than 2 billion devices run on the Android operating system. The number comprises smartphones, tablets, and smart wearable devices. With such a userbase, there is a need for a more prominent app development language now than ever.

Java has been around us since 1996 and serves as a base for Android. Keeping the increasing popularity in mind, Google released Kotlin in 2016. Apart from experienced Android developers’ juniors and starters rest in dilemma which language to leverage for their development career.

Though Kotlin is more performance inclined, it is used by fewer developers worldwide, 8.32% to be more specific. We have drafted an in-depth guide concerning all the aspects of both the language with their detailed pros and cons. Stay tuned until the end to glorify your decision to choose the best language for Android development.

Which One is Better – Kotlin or Java?

What is Kotlin?

Kotlin serves as the easy and clean programming language for newbie learners to develop Android-based applications. Kotlin can be referred to as an open-source PPL – Pragmatic programing language that is preliminarily designed for Java virtual machines and Android supported. This makes Kotlin inherit all the functionalities and features of object-oriented programming language and functional programming features. To get on with Kotlin, developers must have a concrete base of clear programming concepts before starting.

Advantages of Kotlin

Kotlin provides a unique kind of processing experience for Android developers. Once the code is programmed & shifts to the assembly stage, the entire processing is done on a VM – Virtual machine rather than a computer’s processor. Developers must not forget that Kotlin is an extension of Java. This makes it use existing Java-enabled frameworks and libraries that give it an extensive development integration with Gradle, Maven & other systems. Introduction to JetBrains & IntelliJ allows coders to easily convert Java-based code to Kotlin with very less effort. In addition to that, Kotlin refuses to execute code with reference that has NullPointerExceptions.

Limitations of Kotlin

The concentric limitation of Kotlin is that the processing compilation performance is comparatively slower than Java. Those who are habituated to using Java might have a hard time onboarding with Kotlin, and mobile app development firms must have a dedicated budget for training and learning purposes for their developers. When there is a need for a cleaner build, companies prefer JAVA over Kotlin. When a language is new and users are limited, the resource for troubleshooting you can find online is comparatively less. Developers have a hard time finding a solution to problems.

What is Java?

Java comes as a freely available object-oriented programming language that has been around for a long time. The continuous evolution of Java has made it simple, fast, accurate, and robust. Java is used for core programming from everyday usage applications to high-grade server execution cloud interfaces. Android’s ecosystem is also based on Java, and developing a native application on this platform stands out to perform well and flexibly.

Advantages of Java

This language gained its popularity worldwide with the collective efforts of the most famous brains that made it robust, highly secured, and deployable to any platform. Writing, compilation, and execution with reusability & modular interface allow Java to stand out & be the distinguishing point over Kotlin & other programming languages. Migration from one system to another is considerably easy and fast with Java. Java does help concerning independency at binary and source level coding.

Limitations of Java

Java language is a more resource-demanding language in hardware as the entire code is converted to machine level during execution. The nature of this language is based on storing data rather than providing the functionality of backup. The builders which developers can leverage consume enough analysis time for selection when concerned with GUI. Also, the support of unsigned char is found in later Java 8 version and that too with the support of an API.

Best Applications Developed Using Java

If scalability is your topmost primary requirement, you can go with the Java ecosystem. Gigantic applications with billions of fan bases like Spotify, Twitter & LinkedIn are made in Java. A complex application with multiple users onboard simultaneously can benefit from Java.

Kotlin vs Java:

Kotlin, on the one hand, is termed as a functional programming language, and new developers, as well as flutter app development companies, are amused with the English language like structure which also helps them easily grasp the same. Java lays the foundation stone and is a bit complex for new developers and demands extensive performing hardware to execute code that makes Kotlin score a point for being functional and practical.

Suppose you are building an application that has the demand for exceptional handling, then you might have to go with Java as Kotlin doesn’t support the same. Troubleshooting is also easy in Kotlin as it is more like reading an essay in the English language. As far as data variables are concerned, Kotlin will amuse you with its superficial functional data holding classes for easy management.

The Future of Kotlin & Java

Java was and will be an evergreen language. Kotlin is new in the market, and its features make it futureproof and best for execution in a modern-day environment. Java has occupied the market share with a lead of 35.35%, and its extension gives a chance to new languages. Both languages are good and functional according to their environmental implementations. There is no chance for any language that will replace Java shortly.

Kotlin vs Java Performance : Which is Better?

Kotlin, the latest programming language developed by JetBrains, is an awesome choice for developing server-side applications with relatively small-sized code compared with Java. There are many reasons which support the usage of Kotlin over Java, from which the majority is smarter, safer & easier maintenance. The lines of code developer have to write is very much low. The troubleshooting phase for Kotlin code is easy and fast due to the English language coding structure.

Conclusion:

As per the use case scenario and previous versions of the application, we can decide which language to go with & choose the right android app development company. Kotlin is new and has overcome most of the disadvantages found in Java, making it popular worldwide. On the other hand, Java had a larger user base due to its presence for around many years in the industry and will still be around us for a considerable time. Gtech serves as the best android app development company in the USA, customizable according to the business model and specification.

Pinal Goda

Pinal is a React Native Developer working with Gtech Web Infotech Pvt. Ltd., a leading mobile app development company in India. Being capable of building cross-platform applications that are highly proficient and offer intuitive user experience is her forte.