Kotlin: A Quick Start Guide for Beginners

Introduction

The book "Kotlin: A Quick Start Guide for Beginners" (original title Kotlin Quick Start Guide) by Marko Devcic was published in 2018 and immediately attracted the attention of developers wanting to quickly master the modern programming language Kotlin. The book is 188 pages long, making it an ideal choice for those who value conciseness and practical focus. The book is aimed at readers already familiar with the basics of programming (Java, C#, or similar languages) and offers a concise yet comprehensive overview of Kotlin's key features.

What the book is about

The author consistently guides the reader from basic syntax to advanced concepts such as coroutines and Java interoperability. Each chapter contains code examples and explanations, allowing you to immediately apply the knowledge gained in practice. The book covers:

• Installing tools and setting up the environment (IntelliJ IDEA, Gradle);
• Basics of syntax: variables, functions, classes, data types;
• Null safety and the Elvis operator;
• Functional programming: lambdas, higher-order functions, collections;
• Object-oriented features: inheritance, interfaces, data classes;
• Extension functions and properties;
• Coroutines for asynchronous programming;
• Interoperability with Java code (interop);
• Basics of testing in Kotlin.

Who this book is for

The book is intended for programmers who already know one object-oriented language (Java, C++, C#) and want to quickly transition to Kotlin. The book will be especially useful for Android developers, as Kotlin is the official language for Android. Beginners in programming may need additional literature on the basics, but with basic knowledge, the book will be an excellent start.

What the reader will learn

• How to write concise and expressive code in Kotlin;
• How to avoid NullPointerException thanks to built-in null safety;
• How to use functional constructs for processing collections;
• How to create asynchronous applications using coroutines;
• How to integrate Kotlin into existing Java projects;
• How to write unit tests using Kotlin libraries.

Strengths

The main advantage of the book is its practical focus. The author does not overload the text with excessive theory, but immediately moves on to examples. The code in the book is neatly formatted and easy to read. Another plus is the emphasis on modern Kotlin features, such as coroutines, which appeared in version 1.1 and have become an important part of the language. Despite its small size, the book covers all the key topics needed to get started. The chapter on Java interoperability deserves special mention — it will help developers migrating from Java to Kotlin avoid common mistakes.

Who it is recommended for

The book will be useful for:

• Java developers wanting to learn Kotlin for Android or server-side development;
• Students studying modern programming languages;
• Programmers who want to quickly evaluate Kotlin's capabilities without reading multi-volume guides;
• Team leads planning to migrate a project from Java to Kotlin.

Overall, "Kotlin: A Quick Start Guide for Beginners" is an excellent choice for those who want to gain working knowledge in a few days and start writing in Kotlin. The book does not claim to be encyclopedic, but it fulfills its task — a quick start — 100%.