Lesson 1:
Kotlin basics
Android Development with Kotlin v1.0 This work is licensed under the Apache 2 license. 1
About this lesson
Lesson 1: Kotlin basics
○ Get started
○ Operators
○ Data types
○ Variables
○ Conditionals
○ Lists and arrays
○ Null safety
○ Summary
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Get started
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Open IntelliJ IDEA
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Create a new project
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Name the project
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Open REPL (Read-Eval-Print-Loop)
It may take a few
moments before the
Kotlin menu appears
under Tools.
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Create a printHello() function
Press Control+Enter
(Command+Enter on
a Mac) to execute.
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Operators
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Operators
● Mathematical operators + - * / %
● Increment and decrement operators ++ --
● Comparison operators < <= > >=
● Assignment operator =
● Equality operators == !=
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Math operators with integers
1 + 1 => 2
53 - 3 => 50
50 / 10 => 5
9 % 3 => 0
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Math operators with doubles
1.0 / 2.0 => 0.5
2.0 * 3.5 => 7.0
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Math operators
1+1 1.0/2.0
⇒ kotlin.Int = 2 ⇒ kotlin.Double = 0.5
53-3 2.0*3.5 ⇒ indicates output
⇒ kotlin.Int = 50 ⇒ kotlin.Double = 7.0 from your code.
Result includes the
50/10 type (kotlin.Int).
⇒ kotlin.Int = 5
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Numeric operator methods
Kotlin keeps numbers as primitives, but lets you call methods on numbers as if
they were objects.
2.times(3)
⇒ kotlin.Int = 6
3.5.plus(4)
⇒ kotlin.Double = 7.5
2.4.div(2)
⇒ kotlin.Double = 1.2
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Data types
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Integer types
Type Bits Notes
Long 64 From -263 to 263-1
Int 32 From -231 to 231-1
Short 16 From -32768 to 32767
Byte 8 From -128 to 127
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Floating-point and other numeric types
Type Bits Notes
Double 64 16 - 17 significant digits
Float 32 6 - 7 significant digits
Char 16 16-bit Unicode character
Boolean 8 True or false. Operations include:
|| - lazy disjunction, && - lazy conjunction,
! - negation
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Operand types
Results of operations keep the types of the operands
6*50 1/2
⇒ kotlin.Int = 300 ⇒ kotlin.Int = 0
6.0*50.0 1.0/2.0
⇒ kotlin.Double = 300.0 ⇒ kotlin.Double = 0.5
6.0*50
⇒ kotlin.Double = 300.0
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Type casting
Assign an Int to a Byte
val i: Int = 6
val b: Byte = i
println(b)
⇒ error: type mismatch: inferred type is Int but Byte was expected
Convert Int to Byte with casting
val i: Int = 6
println(i.toByte())
⇒ 6
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Underscores for long numbers
Use underscores to make long numeric constants more readable.
val oneMillion = 1_000_000
val idNumber = 999_99_9999L
val hexBytes = 0xFF_EC_DE_5E
val bytes = 0b11010010_01101001_10010100_10010010
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Strings
Strings are any sequence of characters enclosed by double quotes.
val s1 = "Hello world!"
String literals can contain escape characters
val s2 = "Hello world!\n"
Or any arbitrary text delimited by a triple quote (""")
val text = """
var bikes = 50
"""
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String concatenation
val numberOfDogs = 3
val numberOfCats = 2
"I have $numberOfDogs dogs" + " and $numberOfCats cats"
=> I have 3 dogs and 2 cats
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String templates
A template expression starts with a dollar sign ($) and can be a simple value:
val i = 10
println("i = $i")
=> i = 10
Or an expression inside curly braces:
val s = "abc"
println("$s.length is ${s.length}")
=> abc.length is 3
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String template expressions
val numberOfShirts = 10
val numberOfTrousers = 5
"I have ${numberOfShirts + numberOfTrousers} items of clothing"
=> I have 15 items of clothing
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Variables
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Variables
● Powerful type inference
● Let the compiler infer the type
● You can explicitly declare the type if needed
● Mutable and immutable variables
● Immutability not enforced, but recommended
Kotlin is a statically-typed language. The type is resolved at compile time and never
changes.
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Specifying the variable type
Colon Notation
var width: Int = 12
var length: Double = 2.5
Important: Once a type has been assigned by you or the compiler, you can't change
the type or you get an error.
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Mutable and immutable variables
● Mutable (Changeable)
var score = 10
● Immutable (Unchangeable)
val name = "Jennifer"
Although not strictly enforced, using immutable variables is recommended in most
cases.
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var and val
var count = 1
count = 2
val size = 1
size = 2
=> Error: val cannot be reassigned
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Conditionals
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Control flow
Kotlin features several ways to implement conditional logic:
● If/Else statements
● When statements
● For loops
● While loops
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if/else statements
val numberOfCups = 30
val numberOfPlates = 50
if (numberOfCups > numberOfPlates) {
println("Too many cups!")
} else {
println("Not enough cups!")
}
=> Not enough cups!
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if statement with multiple cases
val guests = 30
if (guests == 0) {
println("No guests")
} else if (guests < 20) {
println("Small group of people")
} else {
println("Large group of people!")
}
⇒ Large group of people!
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Ranges
● Data type containing a span of comparable values (e.g., integers from
1 to 100 inclusive)
● Ranges are bounded
● Objects within a range can be mutable or immutable
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Ranges in if/else statements
val numberOfStudents = 50
if (numberOfStudents in 1..100) {
println(numberOfStudents)
}
=> 50
Note: There are no spaces around the "range to" operator (1..100)
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when statement
when (results) {
0 -> println("No results")
in 1..39 -> println("Got results!")
else -> println("That's a lot of results!")
}
⇒ That's a lot of results!
As well as a when statement, you can also define a when expression that
provides a return value.
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for loops
val pets = arrayOf("dog", "cat", "canary")
for (element in pets) {
print(element + " ")
}
⇒ dog cat canary
You don’t need to define an iterator variable and increment it for each pass.
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for loops: elements and indexes
for ((index, element) in pets.withIndex()) {
println("Item at $index is $element\n")
}
⇒ Item at 0 is dog
Item at 1 is cat
Item at 2 is canary
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for loops: step sizes and ranges
for (i in 1..5) print(i)
⇒ 12345
for (i in 5 downTo 1) print(i)
⇒ 54321
for (i in 3..6 step 2) print(i)
⇒ 35
for (i in 'd'..'g') print (i)
⇒ defg
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while loops
var bicycles = 0
while (bicycles < 50) {
bicycles++
}
println("$bicycles bicycles in the bicycle rack\n")
⇒ 50 bicycles in the bicycle rack
do {
bicycles--
} while (bicycles > 50)
println("$bicycles bicycles in the bicycle rack\n")
⇒ 49 bicycles in the bicycle rack
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repeat loops
repeat(2) {
print("Hello!")
}
⇒ Hello!Hello!
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Lists and arrays
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Lists
● Lists are ordered collections of elements
● List elements can be accessed programmatically through their
indices
● Elements can occur more than once in a list
An example of a list is a sentence: it's a group of words, their order is important, and
they can repeat.
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Immutable list using listOf()
Declare a list using listOf() and print it out.
val instruments = listOf("trumpet", "piano", "violin")
println(instruments)
⇒ [trumpet, piano, violin]
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Mutable list using mutableListOf()
Lists can be changed using mutableListOf()
val myList = mutableListOf("trumpet", "piano", "violin")
myList.remove("violin")
⇒ kotlin.Boolean = true
With a list defined with val, you can't change which list the variable refers to, but you
can still change the contents of the list.
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Arrays
● Arrays store multiple items
● Array elements can be accessed programmatically through their
indices
● Array elements are mutable
● Array size is fixed
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Array using arrayOf()
An array of strings can be created using arrayOf()
val pets = arrayOf("dog", "cat", "canary")
println(java.util.Arrays.toString(pets))
⇒ [dog, cat, canary]
With an array defined with val, you can't change which array the variable refers to,
but you can still change the contents of the array.
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Arrays with mixed or single types
An array can contain different types.
val mix = arrayOf("hats", 2)
An array can also contain just one type (integers in this case).
val numbers = intArrayOf(1, 2, 3)
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Combining arrays
Use the + operator.
val numbers = intArrayOf(1,2,3)
val numbers2 = intArrayOf(4,5,6)
val combined = numbers2 + numbers
println(Arrays.toString(combined))
=> [4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3]
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Null safety
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Null safety
● In Kotlin, variables cannot be null by default
● You can explicitly assign a variable to null using the safe call
operator
● Allow null-pointer exceptions using the !! operator
● You can test for null using the elvis (?:) operator
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Variables cannot be null
In Kotlin, null variables are not allowed by default.
Declare an Int and assign null to it.
var numberOfBooks: Int = null
⇒ error: null can not be a value of a non-null type Int
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Safe call operator
The safe call operator (?), after the type indicates that a variable can be null.
Declare an Int? as nullable
var numberOfBooks: Int? = null
In general, do not set a variable to null as it may have unwanted consequences.
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Testing for null
Check whether the numberOfBooks variable is not null. Then decrement that
variable.
var numberOfBooks = 6
if (numberOfBooks != null) {
numberOfBooks = numberOfBooks.dec()
}
Now look at the Kotlin way of writing it, using the safe call operator.
var numberOfBooks = 6
numberOfBooks = numberOfBooks?.dec()
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The !! operator
If you’re certain a variable won’t be null, use !! to force the variable into a non-null
type. Then you can call methods/properties on it.
val len = s!!.length
throws NullPointerException if s is null
Warning: Because !! will throw an exception, it should only be used when it would
be exceptional to hold a null value.
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Elvis operator
Chain null tests with the ?: operator.
numberOfBooks = numberOfBooks?.dec() ?: 0
The ?: operator is sometimes called the "Elvis operator," because it's like a smiley on its
side with a pompadour hairstyle, like Elvis Presley styled his hair.
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Summary
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Summary
In Lesson 1, you learned how to:
● Create an IntelliJ IDEA project, opening REPL, and execute a function
● Use operators and numeric operator methods
● Use data types, type casting, strings, and string templates
● Use variables and type inference, and mutable and immutable variables
● Use conditionals, control flow, and looping structures
● Use lists and arrays
● Use Kotlin's null safety features
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Pathway
Practice what you’ve learned by
completing the pathway:
Lesson 1: Kotlin basics
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