The Rapid Adoption of Kotlin Is Changing Android Projects as We Know Them

ATLANTA, November 19, 2018 (Newswire.com) - JetBrains unveiled Kotlin for JVM, Android, Javascript and Native and it was officially released February 2016. When Google added Kotlin to their Android mobile development platform in May of 2017, it solidified something many developers already knew: Kotlin is a programming language game-changer. It is the first time Google has added a new language to Android. According to JetBrains, over 5 million customers in 169 countries currently use Kotlin.

As Kotlin’s popularity grew it was important to its’ creators at JetBrains to choose a handful of companies they trust to teach Kotlin the right way— and Big Nerd Ranch is proud to be one of them. To get this training in as many engineers as possible, Big Nerd Ranch is launching a 2019 Kotlin Training Tour that will offer 2-day intensive training classes throughout the US. Big Nerd Ranch students have walked away with the skills and confidence to embrace Kotlin projects. “I used other online free courses to learn Kotlin, but with Big Nerd Ranch Kotlin course, it was nice to have the classroom setting to gain better-detailed knowledge. I feel more confident with the basics of Kotlin, and I am looking forward to taking the more advanced courses,” says Steve Hamilton, Disney Android Engineer.

We're seeing a substantial rise in demand for Kotlin training. And with all the possibilities that Kotlin/Native opens up, this is only going to increase over time. That is why we are relying on strong and qualified partners such as Big Nerd Ranch, to cater to the needs of our user.

Hadi Hariri, Jetbrains

“As demand for Kotlin is on the rise, it is exciting to see how our digital product clients are actually using it in their organizations,” commented Chris Stewart, Big Nerd Ranch’s Android Director. “Engineers are genuinely excited about this powerful language.” What’s all the excitement about? It’s simple, literally. Engineers love the simplicity it brings to Android coding because, among other things, it increases their productivity. And, because Kotlin is 100 percent interoperable with Java (the leading programming language) and can be used with Javascript, it’s particularly appealing.

To help meet the demands of Kotlin training, JetBrains handpicked a few companies to certify that their training curriculum and delivery were consistent, accurate, and top notch. There are currently only six companies in the world picked by JetBrains to teach Kotlin and only two in the United States, including Big Nerd Ranch. According to Hadi Hariri of JetBrains, “We’re seeing a substantial rise in demand for Kotlin training. And with all the possibilities that Kotlin/Native opens up, this is only going to increase over time. That is why we are relying on strong and qualified partners such as Big Nerd Ranch, to cater to the needs of our user.”

To help bring more worldwide Kotlin adoption, JetBrains also hosts the annual conference, KotlinConf. This year tickets to KotlinConf sold out within a few weeks, and Big Nerd Ranch had a strong presence; Josh Skeen, Big Nerd Ranch instructor, Android engineer and author of Kotlin Programming: Big Nerd Ranch Guide was a guest speaker. Big Nerd Ranch also offered Kotlin Code Labs which were taught by Kotlin Programming co-authors David Greenhalgh and Josh Skeen.

About JetBrains

JetBrains is a global software vendor specializing in the creation of intelligent, productivity-enhancing tools for software developers and teams. It maintains its headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic, with R&D labs located in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Munich, and Boston. JetBrains employs close to 1000 people and is grown organically, with no external funding. Its product catalog includes award-winning tools such as IntelliJ IDEA and ReSharper.

About Big Nerd Ranch

Big Nerd Ranch is a digital development firm based in Atlanta, GA, with senior engineers who are also world-renowned authors, instructors, developers, and designers. Since 2001, Big Nerd Ranch has been partnering with companies — from startups to Fortune 100s — to build brilliance through innovative digital product development and training that empowers individuals and organizations to dream big and achieve more. Big Nerd Ranch also aims to inspire other engineers and tech industry leaders to produce digital products that go from "visionary" to "market advantage." 

Big Nerd Ranch has one of the most exclusive, immersive developer and designer training programs in the world. To accommodate various training needs and learning styles, there are four different training options, including immersive offsite boot camps, onsite team training, The Frontier online screencasts, and the Big Nerd Ranch Guide collection. Using one or more of these options, 21 of the top 25 apps were built by engineers trained by Big Nerd Ranch.