In this article, we are going to understand the Difference between Kotlin vs Flutter. We will be learning about two very popular mobile development platforms that are Kotlin and flutter in this article on Kotlin vs flutter.
We will not only learn about them but also will compare these two. So let’s go ahead and have a look at what we will be covering in this article.
Kotlin is a journal purpose statically typed programming language developed by JetBrains in 2010 And later released in 2016. Here statically typed means the type of the variable is known at the compile time. Kotlin is interoperable with Java, which means both languages can share and use the information or we can say we can use Kotlin side by side with java and just like the java compiler,
The chortling compiler also generates the byte code which can run on JVM, That is Java virtual machine. It is a very easy and friendly language and Kotlin languages developed by selecting the good features of different languages like Java, JavaScript, C# Etc. Also in 2017, Google announced Kotlin as an officially supported language for Android. Now as we have understood about Kotlin.
Flutter is a user interface toolkit that was developed by Google in 2017. It is not only used to develop mobile applications but web applications desktop applications and some embedded devices as well. Flutter is not a language but a development kit, which contains all the necessary libraries, tools, documentation, Etc. to build the software. Dart is the programming language that is used in a flutter. That was developed by Google in 2011 and it’s very suitable for mobile and web applications. Flutter is an open-source framework and offers a complete package of widgets tools, Etc. for development purposes.
The Kotlin applications directly interact with the device, which is why the Kotlin apps run faster than the flutter apps. Also, the Kotlin code compiles in the same format of the platform in which it is written, which is why it is more suitable for cross-platform mobile app development and that makes Kotlin a robust platform.
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On the other hand, if we look at flutter, its debugging and development process is quite faster because of its features, which is hot reload and hot restart. These features allow the developers to change the code instantly and see its effect, which helps in speeding up the development process and helps in building apps at a much faster rate.
Although comparing Kotlin and flutter is not that fair because they don’t have common grounds when it comes to performance, flutter is a UI toolkit. Its performance depends on how the interface of the app looks and its frames per seconds Etc.
Kotlin is a programming language which is used to develop android and cross-platform apps, so its measurement of performance is a bit different from flutter. Both Kotlin and flutter have different approaches and amazing performance, but still, if we have to compare them, then flutter has the upper hand because of its hot reload feature.
Kotlin is quite an easy language, especially if you know java, then it will be very easy for you to understand and learn this language because Kotlin is inspired from java language and the users of java language will find the syntax of Kotlin very familiar for the beginner’s also. Kotlin is an easy language learning this language will hardly take a month because of its concise and easy-to-learn syntax.
To learn Flutter first, you have to learn dart programming to develop web mobile and desktop applications, which is also an easy language to learn. Its documentation is more comprehensive than Kotlin. Although Kotlin has lesson learning resources than flutter but still it is easier to learn it because in flutter you have to learn the dark programming from scratch, but it is not So in the case of Kotlin and also Kotlin syntax is similar to java, which gives Kotlin an upper hand.
Kotlin’s popularity on git hub is 40K stars, which is quite less than flutters. On the other hand flutter’s popularity on Git hub is 98.9 K stars since its 1.0 release, which is quite good. However, as per google trends comparison, the difference between average interest is not that much between flutter and Kotlin.
Kotlin language lies at 72 and Flutter language lies at 76 in terms of average popularity out of 100. As per stack overflow, the percentage of stack overflow questions for Flutter is approximate 2.50% and for Kotlin it is 1.17%.
Kotlin language doesn’t require a set of libraries and tools to make a connection because it works with the native platform ecosystem. The app developers can deploy the same libraries and Third-party tools instead of making a new one.
On the other hand, flutter is a UI development tool So it needs third-party libraries and tools to make a connection with the native environment.
Kotlin has developed many apps including VM ware, Pinterest, Coursera, Somato, Netflix and Uber Etc. On the other hand, Flutter has developed apps including Cryptograph, google ads, Postmuse, Hamilton app tree Etc.
Null safety is one of the most innovative features that come with the Kotlin language. This Null safety feature eliminates the risk of null pointer exception. The Kotlin type system helps in differentiating between nullable and non-nullable references and Kotlin doesn’t compile the code which tries to return null.
Kotlin language, the code we write is compiled in the same format as the platform of which it is Planned. This feature provides the performance to the native app development which Makes Kotlin language a robust platform.
Kotlin language is easy and simple to comprehend. It is inspired from languages like java, C#, Etc. Its syntax is also quite similar and less strict to java. Due to its similarity with java the users who knew java found this language very familiar to java and easy to grasp. Also due to its interoperable nature with java, both languages can co-exist which makes things easier for developers.
In Kotlin language you don’t have to write extra code. Unlike java, you don’t have to write the entire code. You can simply write the same code with fear lines. Also, Kotlin has a single code base that makes it a stable language for development and you can easily detect errors before running the code.
This feature allows you to see the change that you have created like fixing bugs, building user interface, Etc. and those changes are then reflected instantly. Also, it helps you to ride the code faster with ease
You have the advantage of using the same code because of native app development which allows us to reuse most parts of the code. This helps in cutting the development time and resources along with that It helps in reducing the budget by up 30-40%.
Flutter SDK comes with numerous widgets, which offers many capabilities. These widgets help in making the app attractive. It is used to display it is used to design something and it is also used to handle the interactions as well. The choice of widgets is responsible for the design or view of the screen.
MVP and prototype development here, MVP stands for a minimum viable product. It is a simpler version of the app or software that solves the problem statement MVP helps in giving the true Potential of the idea. It helps in attracting the interest of the users in the product that you are planning to launch. Flutter is a cross-platform development tool, so minimum time and resources are needed and can be assessed if the idea is good or not.
Flutter and Kotlin are two different mobile development frameworks. Both frameworks have their own strengths. It is impossible to say which framework is better. Both frameworks are good for different kinds of apps. Both Flutter and Kotlin will enable you to reach more customers faster. Both Flutter and Kotlin lets you serve the same code to both iOS & Android users.
