Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile SDK nears the finish line

news
Oct 11, 20221 min

JetBrains’ Kotlin SDK allows developers to maintain a shared codebase of networking, data storage, analytics, and other logic for Android and iOS applications.

man running across finish line
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JetBrains has moved its Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile SDK, for sharing the logic of iOS and Android apps, to a beta stage, more than two years after the alpha version arrived.

On track to becoming stable, the Kotlin mobile SDK combines the benefits of cross-platform and native development, JetBrains said. Developers can maintain a shared codebase for networking, data storage, and analytics, along with other logic for Android and iOS apps. Native APIs can be implemented for iOS and Android devices, and platform-specific code written when needed. Graduation to the beta stage, which JetBrains announced October 9, means the technology is almost finished and is safe to use in projects.

Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile leverages the multiplatform capabilities of Kotlin and provides tools for cross-platform mobile development in the Android Studio IDE, with a plugin available for the IDE. Instructions for getting started with Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile can be found at kotlinlang.org. During the technology’s experimental phase, the Kotlin team attempted various approaches to libraries, project configuration, and memory management in an effort to provide the best development experience. Early adopters included companies such as VMware, Netflix, and Philips.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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