Programming language · 2016
Kotlin
General-purpose programming language derived from Java.
Official site ›
What is Kotlin written in?
What Kotlin is used for
Kotlin is Google's preferred language for Android development, a concise and safer alternative to Java that interoperates fully with it. It is also used for back-end services and cross-platform mobile.
Notable software: Android apps at Google, Pinterest, and Netflix, plus back-ends using the Ktor and Spring frameworks.
About Kotlin
Kotlin is a general-purpose programming language derived from Java. It is a statically typed and garbage-collected language that compiles to bytecode that runs on a virtual machine. It supports object-oriented and functional programming. Compiling to bytecode for a virtual machine is the same model the JVM and .NET use: the VM, not the CPU, interprets or JIT-compiles the bytecode.
Kotlin first appeared in 2016 and was designed by JetBrains at JetBrains. Kotlin has a large, active user base today.
Kotlin in the language family tree
Kotlin drew on ideas from Java, Scala, Groovy, and Haskell.
Sources: Wikipedia · Wikidata · Official site
Quick Facts
- Short answer
- Kotlin compiler is written in Kotlin and Java
- Created by
- JetBrains, 2011
- Targets
- JVM bytecode, JavaScript, native (LLVM)
- Original compiler
- Written in Java
Kotlin targets three backends
Kotlin began as a Java program at JetBrains and has progressively moved to being written in Kotlin. The default target is JVM bytecode, so Kotlin interoperates directly with Java. Kotlin/JS emits JavaScript, and Kotlin/Native compiles through LLVM to standalone native binaries with no JVM.
Frequently Asked Questions
Evidence Sources
- https://kotlinlang.org/docs/faq.html
- https://github.com/JetBrains/kotlin
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotlin_(programming_language)
- Kotlin on Wikipedia
- Kotlin on Wikidata (Q3816639)