Kotlin is a modern programming language that first appeared in 2011, created by JetBrains (the same folks who built IntelliJ IDEA). It's designed to be concise, safe, and fully compatible with Java.
How does Kotlin work?
Kotlin runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), just like Java does. That means your Kotlin code compiles down to bytecode that runs anywhere Java runs. You get all the performance of Java without the headache.
And because Kotlin is 100% interoperable with Java, you can call Java code from Kotlin and Kotlin code from Java. No bridging, no adapters. It just works.
Where can you use Kotlin?
- Android development — Google's official language for Android
- Backend development — Frameworks like Ktor and Spring Boot support Kotlin
- Multiplatform — Share code between Android, iOS, web, and desktop
- Desktop apps — With Compose Desktop or JavaFX
Pretty flexible for a language that's barely a decade old, right?
Your first look
fun main() {
println("Hello from Kotlin running on JVM!")
}