Kotlin is the new Java in android development and now google has officially announced it as a main programming language for android mobile applications. If you are an android developer then you should already have started Kotlin for all your application development. If you have not started, here are some reasons to start today:

• Kotlin will replace Java in android world like swift replaced objective c in IoS development:

I can see the same situation when Apple introduced swift and later on which replaced objective C in all IoS development. All the IoS developers had to learn Swift to save their career and now this is the term for android developers to adapt Kotlin and primary language otherwise they will be out-dated

• Kotlin is interoperable with Java so has an easy learning curve:

Kotlin is 100% interoperable with Java and most of the syntax is similar to Java programs with few improvements. So it is easy to learn for a Java developer.  If you already have started the project in Java, no need to worry as you can use Kotlin syntax in existing Java code and it will work like a charm. You can also use Kotlin to add some features in your older android projects as well

• Kotlin is improved avatar of Java and better than Java in some cases:

Java is always a pain to handle null values and despite of using indirect tricks it never works as it should. Kotlin is champion in this department and you don’t have to write extra logic to manage null values. You don’t have to write class for simple logics and there are many other things like extension function, multiple return function etc gives it edge over Java

• Inline function saves many lines and different way to define variables:

Inline function is my favourite and I compare it to es6 arrow function which can be written in single line and does not need return keyword to return values. On other places val is keyword to define constant or read only variable which avoid any un-intentional mutation and var keyword helps to make variable mutational intentionally. Such features makes code life easy

• Kotlin is not limited to android development:

Kotlin is a general purpose programming language developed by jetbrains and it is not limited to android development rather it can be used at frontend with javascript and at backend on server. It is a new programming language and has been here from quite a while even before google announced to officially support it. So this creates opportunities for a developer who also want to work on web applications

Above are some points which makes necessary to start in Kotlin for every android developer. I think, it is the best time to start as it just launched with android support and will replace Java in future which will make experienced kotlin developer difficult to find and few months more experience can make a big difference in your career.