Web Development in Kotlin: From Basics to Deployment

Kotlin has long ceased to be just a language for Android. Today it is a powerful tool for creating server applications, microservices, and full-fledged web projects. The book "Web Development in Kotlin: From Basics to Deployment" is a practical guide that will take you from your first lines of code to launching a finished application into production.

What is this book about?

You will start with the basics of the Kotlin language, if you are just getting acquainted with it, and quickly move on to practical tasks. The book covers two main frameworks for web development:

• Ktor — a lightweight asynchronous framework from the creators of Kotlin, ideal for microservices and high-load systems.
• Spring Boot — a classic choice for enterprise solutions, with a detailed breakdown of dependency injection, JPA, and security.

You will learn how to design REST APIs, work with databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB) via Exposed and Spring Data, configure authentication and authorization, write tests, and connect a React frontend via the Ktor client. A separate chapter is dedicated to deployment: Docker, CI/CD, cloud platforms (Heroku, AWS).

Who is this book for?

• Beginner developers who want to master Kotlin for backend development.
• Java developers transitioning to a more modern and concise language.
• Android developers looking to expand their skills with server-side development.
• Experienced programmers seeking a structured guide to Ktor and Spring Boot.

What will you learn?

• How to set up a project from scratch: Gradle, dependencies, configuration.
• Creating routes, middleware, error handling, and validation.
• Working with databases: migrations, transactions, table relationships.
• Security: JWT, OAuth2, CSRF and XSS protection.
• Testing: unit, integration, contract tests.
• Deployment: Docker containerization, Nginx configuration, monitoring.

Each chapter contains code examples that can be run immediately, and practical assignments to reinforce the material. By the end of the book, you will create a full-fledged web application — an analog of a simple online store with a Kotlin backend and a React frontend.

This book is not a reference guide, but a roadmap. It will save you months of searching for information across scattered articles and tutorials. If you want to write not only mobile applications in Kotlin, but also server-side code that runs fast and reliably — start with this book.