Ask HN: Should I learn Kotlin or Golang?

5 pointskev61689y ago14 comments

Edit: I have worked with Java/Python/JS extensively. To be honest not very fond of the Java/JVM platform for all the usual reasons.

14 comments

13 comments · 9 top-level

blumomo9y ago· 2 in thread

Did you already work with any another programming language (are you beginner)? And which problems do you want to solve? Without answering these questions, there's no chance that you get a helpful answer.

blumomo9y ago

Ok, you are now answering the first question. What about my second?

Are you actually engaging with the users who reply to your question?

kev6168OP9y ago

Sorry for the late reply. My work has been mostly business applications and web site backend stuff, and I am happy to continue doing it. But I also like to learn native mobile app development (bothe iOS and Android) to expand my skillset.

1 more reply

usgroup9y ago· 1 in thread

RE Java/JVM just try Clojure for a bit... it's really rather good.

Otherwise, do Go. Really useful for high performance. Channels are easy as pie for concurrency. Web services, command line tools, etc; lovely. Downside is that it's verbose and if you hate loops then there's no salvation for you.

tinyikov9y ago

If you worked extensively in Java, you will find Golang really easier to pickup.

cdnsteve9y ago· 1 in thread

What are you looking to do with said new language?

kev6168OP9y ago

will mostly be business applications and web site backend stuff. Also I would like to learn native mobile app development to expand my skillset.

1 more reply

mankash6669y ago

Or dart and flutter - all 4 being supposed first class citizens at Google.

My personal philosophy has been to solve/implement the issue at hand using a language that I consider to have "native" proficiency. Because, the list of languages propping up claiming to be the next best thing is large: 1. Kotlin 2. Go 3. Dart/flutter 4. Rust 5. Swift 6. Scala 7. Haskell 8. F#

The advent of llvm has drastically cut down the time to market for new languages. I'm certain a few more will get added to this list soon, so just get the job done following best practices and without incurring technical debt. This will make your work language proof

jamesswift39y ago

I do recommend you should learn both to help you gain experience to tackle different problems, many workplaces lack programmers of those experiences. It's like a triathlon that we aren't made to learn only one language.

Likewise, I like the concept to encourage learning 8 languages rather than 2.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/834569564/codescontext-...

lovelearning9y ago

Perhaps both together.

[1]: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-interleaving-...

jankotek9y ago

Why you do not like Java? Does Kotlin solve some of those problems?

stanislavb9y ago

Go... or maybe Elixir ;)

brudgers9y ago

Why not Erlang?

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