Kotlin 2.0 Released: Faster And More Reliable

Kotlin 2.0 concludes the work on K2 compiler, a major milestone to prepare Kotlin for wider adoption

Yesterday, on 22 May 2024, Kotlin 2.0 was released.

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It took eight years to reach this important milestone. Kotlin 1.0 was released on 15 February 2016.

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The popular programming language that compiles to JVM, cooperates with Java and compiles yo Javascript and native code went a long way since it was anmounced by JetBrains twelve years ago.

K2 Compiler: Less Casting And Better Multiplatform

K2 compiler that was beta in Kotlin 1.9.0 is now the new default. Writing a new compiler was necessary for two new features: smart casting and separation of common and platform code during compilation.

The first one means Kotlin is now able to figure out the type in more cases so you don’t have to cast explicitly. Second feature fixes a wide range of problems with multiplatform code due to how compilation was handled. It’s important because Kotlin team wants to expand the adoption of…