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# Why Kotlin is the better Java and how you can start using it

Tired of verbose Java boilerplate and endless NullPointerExceptions? Discover how Kotlin's seamless JVM interoperability lets you safely modernize your codebase file-by-file.

- **Speakers:** Iris Hunkeler
- **Event:** WeAreDevelopers LIVE
- **Published:** September 14, 2023
- **Duration:** 58:11
- **URL:** https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/661-why-kotlin-is-the-better-java-and-how-you-can-start-using-it

## Summary

Kotlin was "consciously designed to be a better language than Java," offering a modern, concise alternative that addresses decades of legacy programming pain points while remaining deeply rooted in the JVM ecosystem. By stripping away the backwards-compatible constraints that force Java to maintain features like raw primitives and checked exceptions, Kotlin delivers a streamlined developer experience. The language prioritizes readability and safety, acknowledging the fundamental truth that software engineers spend significantly more time reading existing code than writing brand new routines.

To achieve this improved developer experience, Kotlin comprehensively eliminates the notorious "billion-dollar mistake" of the NullPointerException through baked-in null safety and the intuitive Elvis operator. It significantly reduces tedious boilerplate by introducing native data classes, which effortlessly replace verbose Java POJOs. Furthermore, extension functions allow engineers to dynamically augment existing third-party classes without the architectural clutter of traditional utility classes, while smart casts and localized string templates further refine the syntax. These features collectively result in a concise codebase that is inherently easier to read, test, and maintain.

Transitioning a development team from Java to Kotlin is engineered to be a low-risk, gradual process rather than a jarring ecosystem rewrite. Because of seamless bi-directional cross-language interoperability, engineering teams can safely introduce Kotlin into existing Java Spring Boot backends file-by-file. Development environments like IntelliJ IDEA even offer automated code block conversion to ease the initial learning curve. Ultimately, empowering teams to experiment with Kotlin demonstrates that adopting a modern syntax yields immediate code maintainability improvements without forcing developers to abandon the robust JVM libraries and tooling they already rely on.

**Keywords:** kotlin vs java comparison, null safety syntax, nullpointerexception prevention, elvis operator, kotlin data classes, extension functions implementation, string templates, smart variable casting, java virtual machine languages, legacy java backwards compatibility, intellij idea tooling, java to kotlin interoperability, boilerplate code reduction, unchecked exception handling, functional programming support, spring boot code migration

## Chapters

1. **Introduction to the Java and Kotlin ecosystems** (00:02) — An overview of Kotlin's popularity and historical context compared to Java.
1. **Kotlin language features and null safety** (04:54) — How Kotlin addresses null pointer exceptions by distinguishing between nullable and non-nullable types.
1. **Live coding demonstration of Kotlin null safety** (07:45) — A practical implementation showing compile-time errors for incorrect null variable assignments.
1. **Reducing boilerplate with Kotlin data classes** (10:40) — How data classes automatically generate constructors, getters, and standard methods compared to object schemas in Java.
1. **Writing and modifying data classes directly** (12:42) — Constructing objects using default parameters and managing immutability explicitly through assignment syntax.
1. **Enhancing classes via custom extension functions** (16:33) — Extending predefined library structures organically without defining explicit external utility classes.
1. **Implementing private extension functions for local scope** (17:53) — Adding internal functionality to an existing data class leveraging targeted scoping logic.
1. **Simplifying text formatting with contextual string templates** (21:28) — Embedding variables directly within strings instead of using verbose concatenation structures.
1. **Eliminating explicit casting overhead using smart casts** (23:27) — Leveraging logical checks to automatically infer and map explicit type boundaries.
1. **Applying smart casts and string template mechanisms together** (24:16) — Combining intelligent system inference and string interpolation functionality while greatly enhancing fundamental code text readability.
1. **Comparing missing features and historical language limitations** (28:44) — Evaluating discrepancies involving checked exceptions, primitives, and wildcard types alongside institutional reasons to maintain basic legacy patterns.
1. **Configuring runtime Java and Kotlin interoperability protocols** (32:53) — Managing dual-language mappings encompassing foundational accessor paradigms alongside remaining null safety limitations across languages.
1. **Testing cross-language compatibility limitations between classes** (34:27) — Recreating exceptions caused directly by accessing legacy structures missing internal boundary enforcement components.
1. **Recommended resources and frameworks for learning Kotlin natively** (38:00) — Leveraging official exercises, standardized reference files, and functional environments to vastly accelerate initial platform transitions.
1. **Summarizing the practical engineering advantages of writing Kotlin** (40:18) — Recapping how comprehensive structure enhancements optimize application stability routines, coding efficiency formats, and operational programmer satisfaction.
1. **Identifying valid scenarios for maintaining existing language architectures** (42:02) — Examining explicit instances where strong foundational stability concerns fundamentally outweigh immediate integration advantages produced by modern formats.
1. **Applying gradual framework migration strategies in Spring Boot** (44:06) — Utilizing basic tooling to iteratively swap language protocols explicitly without broadly disrupting backend functionality structures.
1. **Assessing common dependency workarounds against native syntactic paradigms** (45:28) — Evaluating cases where foundational plugins resolve code friction externally without actually changing structural integration pipelines.
1. **Contrasting capabilities and functional alternatives against Scala environments** (46:46) — Reviewing generalized production footprint scales comparing different environments explicitly optimized effectively against core object standards.
1. **Navigating team hesitation and transitional programming friction hurdles** (47:59) — Encouraging practical experimentation methods utilizing unstructured event environments meant to directly normalize organizational execution transitions.
1. **Justifying functional transition scopes for legacy maintenance codebases** (50:37) — Distinguishing the explicit boundaries between evolutionary feature builds versus entirely static lifecycle states preventing effective resource allocation efforts.
1. **Assessing baseline framework support and external community ecosystems** (54:03) — Measuring comparative bidirectional module capabilities scaling adequately alongside smaller raw overall participant interaction communities externally.
1. **Evaluating historical constraints against future platform feature parity** (55:51) — Recognizing structural obligations inherent inside deeply standardized foundations enforcing strict integration limitations across ongoing compilation builds natively.

## Related Moments

- [Introduction to Kotlin history and Java ecosystem interoperability](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/384-moving-from-java-to-kotlin) (from "Moving from Java to Kotlin")
- [Introduction to Kotlin and Java interoperability](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/512-route-from-java-to-kotlin) (from "Route from Java to Kotlin")
- [Key takeaways and future Kotlin Multiplatform improvements](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/4-kotlin-multiplatform-true-power-of-native-code-reuse) (from "Kotlin Multiplatform - True power of native code reuse")
- [Navigating Kotlin Multiplatform beyond the happy path](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100143-the-dark-corners-of-kotlin-multiplatform) (from "The Dark Corners of Kotlin Multiplatform")
- [Solving cross-platform drawbacks with Kotlin Multiplatform](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/4-kotlin-multiplatform-true-power-of-native-code-reuse) (from "Kotlin Multiplatform - True power of native code reuse")
- [Understanding Kotlin Multiplatform and its compiler targets](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/4-kotlin-multiplatform-true-power-of-native-code-reuse) (from "Kotlin Multiplatform - True power of native code reuse")

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