Kotlin In-Depth: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Multi-Paradigm Language, Volume I

Master the concise and expressive power of a pragmatic, multi-paradigm language for JVM, Android and beyond

Key Features

• Language fundamentals
• Object-oriented and functional programming with Kotlin
• Kotlin standard library
• Building domain-specific languages
• Using Kotlin for Web development
• Kotlin for Android platform
• Coroutine-based concurrency

Description

The purpose of this book is to guide a reader through the capabilities of Kotlin language and give examples of how to use it for the development of various applications, be it desktop, mobile or Web. Although our primary focus is on JVM and Android, the knowledge we’re sharing here, to various extents, applies to other Kotlin-supported platforms such as JavaScript, native and even multi-platform applications.

The book starts with an introduction to the language and its ecosystem, which will give you an understanding of the key ideas behind the Kotlin design, introduce you to the Kotlin tooling and present you the basic language syntax and constructs. In the next chapters, we get to know the multi-paradigm nature of Kotlin which allows us to create powerful abstractions by combining various aspects of functional and object-oriented programming. We’ll talk about using common Kotlin APIs, such as the standard library, reflection, and coroutine-based concurrency as well as the means for creating your own flexible APIs based on domain-specific languages. In the concluding chapters, we give examples of using Kotlin for more specialized tasks, such as testing, building Android applications, Web development and creating microservices.

What will you learn

By the end of the book you’ll obtain a thorough knowledge of all the basic aspects of Kotlin programming. You’ll be able to create a flexible and reusable code by taking advantage of object-oriented and functional features, use Kotlin standard library, compose your own domain-specific languages, write asynchronous code using Kotlin coroutines library as well. You’ll also have a basic understanding of using Kotlin for writing test code, web applications and Android development. This knowledge will also give you a solid foundation for deeper learning of related development platforms, tools, and frameworks.

Who this book is for

The book is primarily aimed at developers who are familiar with Java and JVM and are willing to get a firm understanding of Kotlin while having little to no experience in that language. Discussion of various language features will be accompanied, if deemed necessary, by comparisons with their Java’s analogs, which should simplify the Java-to-Kotlin transition. Most of the material, however, is rather Java-agnostic and should be beneficial even without prior knowledge of Java. In general, experience in object-oriented or functional paradigm is a plus, but not required.

About the Author

Aleksei Sedunov has been working as a Java developer since 2008. Since joining JetBrains in 2012, he’s been actively participating in the Kotlin language development, focusing on IDE tooling for the IntelliJ platform. Currently, he’s working in a DataGrip team, a JetBrains Database IDE, while carrying on with Kotlin as a main development tool.