Nitya Narasimhan, Ph.D
Posted on August 2, 2020
Last Updated: Aug 4, 2020
I made a resolution to kick off #30days of learning on Aug 1, 2020. I focused on a new programming language:Kotlin! Here's a quick intro.
Want to kickstart your own Kotlin journey?
Three things you can do:
- 🔖 Bookmark (👈🏽) this page | Be notified of updates!
- ✅ Follow #kotlinfyi and #kotlin tags | Find relevant people!
- 📚 Read my Kotlin FYI series | Start your #30Days Journey
About This Article
In Jun 2018, I was into my learning journey into Flutter when I created the following post to help share my learnings and connect with other enthusiasts:
Two years later, I still hear from folks who find it valuable. So as I start this journey, I hope this post does the same for Kotlin!
Bookmark this post to get updates as I add new resources! And drop me a comment if you have recommendations or insights!
What is Kotlin?
According to the Kotlin website, it is an open-source modern programming language that can be used for mobile cross-platform apps, server-side development, web development, data science and native experiences! For the latter, current support includes Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, iOS, WebAssembly and more.
As of 2019, it is also Google's preferred language for Android development just 2 years after first being officially supported - a remarkable journey!
Over the next #30Days I'll start unpacking the buzzwords and diving into the why and how of software development with Kotlin in a series of posts covering concepts and code.
Follow the kotlinfyi tag for my article updates, or post your own!
Why explore Kotlin?
There are many reasons to do this and it helps to have the right goals and motivation. Here are mine:
It's a popular language, and likely to be in demand.
Kotlin has been the fastest growing language in the past two years with 2M+ devs, and growing.
The TIOBE Index has it at #27 in July 2020 (a small move up the rankings) while the 2019 Octoverse report listed it at #4 in the fastest-growing languages that year. Even the IEEE Computer Society Trends Section ranked Kotlin at #2 in popularity, only second to Python. And in the recent 2020 StackOverflow Survey (of 65K devs), it ranked #4 in the most-loved languages category. In summary, it can't hurt to learn it - and it might even help!
It's the preferred language for Android development
Despite COVID challenges, data shows that Android still dominates the global smartphone market. With Kotlin being the preferred language for Android app development, it's likely the better bet for mobile devs.
Added incentive? The Microsoft Surface Duo is a unique foldable Android device and I can't wait to start playing with the dual-screen SDK and samples
I want to learn in public and reclaim the term 'beginner'
I recently wrote this post on why I felt we needed to reclaim the term beginner and make it something that empowers people instead of undermining their confidence and contribution.
With this journey, I want to walk the talk and learn in public, sharing my successes and failures in a way that destigmatizes the learner journey and revels in the joy of creating value, gaining and sharing knowledge.
Where do I start?
That is exactly what this post is for. Bookmark it to be notified of updates. Over the next #30Days I will be adding resources to it daily as I start navigating, learning and sharing my own journey through the Kotlin universe!
Join me!
Documentation (❶ start here)
- Kotlinlang.org - official docs for the language!
- Develop Android Apps With Kotlin - Kotlin for Android dev.
Courses & Codelabs (❷ skill up)
- Google Android Codelabs
- Kotlin Bootcamp for Programmers - Udacity, 2020
- Developing Android Apps With Kotlin - Udacity, 2020
- Advanced Apps in Kotlin - Udacity, 2020
Books, Podcasts & Streams (❸ read, listen & learn)
- Talking Kotlin 🎙
- Fragmented: Learning Kotlin 🎙
- [Kotlin Cookbook] 📚(https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/kotlin-cookbook/9781492046660/) by Ken Kousen. With code repo!
People (❹ connect & grow)
Scan the Google Developer Experts Directory to find global practioners!
Follow the #kotlin tag to find others in this community!
- Huyen Tue Dao| @queencodemonkey ➡️ see her talks
-
Annyce Davis | @brwngrldev ➡ take her courses!
- Hadi Hariri | @hhariri ➡ Developer Advocacy Lead (JetBrains), Hosts Talking Kotlin (Podcast)
Posted on August 2, 2020
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