Kotlin Programming Essentials: Build a Strong Foundation

Master the fundamentals of Kotlin with this hands-on codelab and build a strong programming foundation. Learn Kotlin’s role in Android, backend, and multiplatform development while setting up your development environment with essential tools. Explore Kotlin syntax, type inference, and control flow using if, when, loops, and ranges. Write clean, efficient code using functions, extension functions, and scope functions. Gain hands-on experience with null safety, exception handling, and collections, and dive into object-oriented programming concepts like classes, inheritance, data classes, and sealed classes. Finally, learn how to optimize performance with inline functions and tail recursion, apply best practices, and follow Kotlin’s official coding conventions. Whether you're a beginner or an intermediate developer, this codelab will help you write idiomatic Kotlin code confidently.

Codelab Objectives

In this codelab, you’ll explore:

  • Set Up and Get Started with Kotlin
     
    Install and configure a Kotlin development environment with essential tools
     Understand Kotlin’s role in Android, backend, and multiplatform projects
  • Master Kotlin’s Fundamentals
     Write basic Kotlin syntax, define variables, and use type inference
     Work with the main() function and handle standard input/output
     
    Use arithmetic and logical operators in expressions
     
    Utilize string templates for dynamic text interpolation
  • Control Flow and Functions
     Implement control flow using if, when, loops, and ranges
     
    Define and call functions with parameters and return values
     
    Organize code with local functions
     
    Use default arguments, named parameters, and vararg in functions
     
    Write single-expression functions for cleaner code
     
    Implement infix functions and operator overloading for concise syntax
  • Type System, Null Safety & Exception Handling
     
    Perform type checks and smart casts for safe conversions
     
    Ensure null safety with nullable types and safe calls (?., ?:)
     
    Handle exceptions using try-catch, require(), and check()
  • Collections with Basic Functional Code 
     
    Work with lists, sets, and maps in Kotlin
     Use extension functions to enhance existing classes
     Master scope functions (apply, with, let, also, run) for cleaner code
  • Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) in Kotlin
     
    Define classes, constructors, and inheritance
     Apply Encapsulation, Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Abstraction
     Work with properties, initialization blocks, and companion objects
     Use visibility modifiers (private, protected, internal, public)
  • Advanced Kotlin Features
     
    Leverage data classes and their auto-generated methods (copy())
     Implement sealed classes, interfaces, and enums for structured type hierarchies
     Improve readability with type aliases
     
    Optimize performance using inline functions
     Implement tail recursion to optimize recursive functions
  • Kotlin Best Practices & Performance Optimizations 
     
    Understand structural (==) vs. referential (===) equality and array comparisons
     Override equals() and hashCode() for custom equality logic
     Use the this keyword in member functions and extension functions
     Apply destructuring declarations to unpack objects into variables
     Work with annotations, meta-annotations, and repeatable annotations (@Target)
     Follow Kotlin coding conventions and best practices

Codelab Content

Meet the instructor

Ahmed Atef

Content Author & Course Instructor

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