Version
You can check the version of Kotlin you are using by running the command
kotlinc -version
in your terminal.
About Kotlin
Kotlin is a cross-platform, statically typed, general-purpose programming language.
Kotlin is a programming language with very close ties to Java, which we will explain further in the piece.
It is a static-type language developed in 2011 by JetBrains, in their Saint Petersburg, Russia offices.
Kotlin looks to improve upon the Java programming language while keeping arguably its most important and useful
factor,
the fact that previously developed and written code and runs on different platforms as long as they run the Java
Virtual Machine.
Some developers around the world have started to adopt Kotlin because of its simple syntax, not requiring
semicolons,
and being simply shorter and better to work with than Java code.
It becomes simpler to debug, and it is more friendly for beginners to start implementing their ideas into code.
It is compatible with Java, which means that it shares many of its applications and people use them for similar
purposes.
Nevertheless, Kotlin has one very popular and mainstream application that has already taken over most of the
alternative programming languages:
Android app development. Over 60% of developers utilize this language to program everything from simple apps to
complex
mobile games for the popular mobile platform.
Kotlin has many interesting particularities, as it works around many of the issues and beginner user hurdles
that
Java accidentally implemented with its creation. It has good functional programming capacities, which moves it
away from the sometimes
restrictive object-oriented programming environment that Java adamantly enforces. Kotlin is simply more compact
and concise, and a good example is string templates. While in Java one must go through some trouble to insert
results or other string variables into a given string (essentially string concatenation), Kotlin supports
template expressions in strings that allow for way simpler coding for the same result.
Features aside, in 2019 Google encouraged developers to utilize Kotlin in place of Java, which gave it a huge
push towards Android adoption, but also for general software development. This reinforces the advantages a
simpler system brings to create more and more complex programs.
Releases
The current Kotlin release is 1.5.10, released in May of 2021. No less than a month before that,
we had Kotlin 1.5.0, which shows how committed the team is to fix any issues with the language and consistently
update it.