May 21, 2024

Kotlin 2.0 released

JetBrains shipped KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. 2.0 on May 21, 2024 with the K2 compiler — faster builds, better multiplatform support, and improved JavaA portable language running on the JVM — dominant in enterprise servers, Android, and big data. interop.

What it was for

Kotlin (programming language)The K2 compiler rewrote KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java.'s frontend for speed and consistency across JVMJava Virtual Machine — executes Java bytecode and hosts Kotlin, Scala, Clojure, and other JVM languages., JS, Native, and Wasm targets. KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. 2 unified Compose Multiplatform and server-side KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. under one toolchain — important for AndroidGoogle's open mobile operating system — the dominant platform for smartphones worldwide. teams sharing code with iOSApple's mobile operating system — runs iPhone and iPad with a sandboxed app ecosystem. and backend services.

Companies

  • Google
  • JetBrains

Why it's here

KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. 2 was a compiler reboot, not just another feature release.

Why it mattered

Faster analysis and multiplatform parity kept KotlinA modern language from JetBrains — officially supported for Android and interoperable with Java. competitive with SwiftApple's language for iOS, macOS, and server apps — designed for safety and performance. and TypeScriptJavaScript with static types — compiles to JS and powers large front-end and Node codebases..

What it solved

The old compiler struggled with large GradleA build automation tool for Java, Kotlin, and Android projects using a flexible task model. projects and divergent platform backends.

Media

  • Kotlin (programming language)
    ImageKotlin (programming language)

    JetBrains, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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