May 17, 2017
Kotlin made official for Android
At Google I/OGoogle's annual developer conference — Android, cloud, AI, and web platform announcements. on May 17, 2017, Google announced KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. as an officially supported language for AndroidGoogle's open mobile operating system — the dominant platform for smartphones worldwide. development alongside JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data..
What it was for
Google's endorsement turned KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. from a JetBrains side project into the default choice for new AndroidGoogle's open mobile operating system — the dominant platform for smartphones worldwide. apps. Null safety, coroutines, and JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. interop let teams migrate gradually off verbose AndroidGoogle's open mobile operating system — the dominant platform for smartphones worldwide. JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. without rewriting entire codebases overnight.
Companies
- JetBrains
Why it's here
Google's backing made KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. the successor to JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. on the world's largest mobile platform.
Why it mattered
Millions of AndroidGoogle's open mobile operating system — the dominant platform for smartphones worldwide. developers gained a modern language with first-class IDEIntegrated development environment — an editor with debugging, build tools, and project management built in. and docs support.
What it solved
AndroidGoogle's open mobile operating system — the dominant platform for smartphones worldwide. JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. was verbose and null-prone; Google needed an official modern alternative developers would adopt.
Media
- ImageKotlin (programming language)
JetBrains, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- Kotlin programming language announcedJuly 19, 2011
- Kotlin 1.0 releasedFebruary 15, 2016
- Kotlin 2.0 releasedMay 21, 2024
- Android announcedNovember 5, 2007
- T-Mobile G1 releasedOctober 22, 2008