We have written this book for developers of all kinds: experienced Android developers who want modern features beyond what Java offers, server-side developers interested in learning about Kotlin’s features, and newer developers looking to venture into a high-performance compiled language.
Android support might be why you are reading this book, but the book is not limited to Kotlin programming for Android. In fact, except in one advanced chapter, Chapter 21, all the Kotlin code in this book is agnostic to the Android framework. That said, if you are interested in using Kotlin for Android application development, this book shows off some common patterns that make writing Android apps a breeze in Kotlin.
Although Kotlin has been influenced by a number of other languages, you do not need to know the ins and outs of any other language to learn Kotlin. From time to time, we will discuss the Java code equivalent for Kotlin code you have written. If you have Java experience, this will help you understand the relationship between the two languages. If you do not know Java, seeing how another language tackles the same problems can help you grasp the principles that have shaped Kotlin’s development.