November 2019 Summaries

Android continues to dominate the smartphone OS market, making the development of Android apps a promising business venture, with Kotlin emerging as the preferred programming language for Android development due to its interoperability with Java and its efficient, concise, and safe coding features. While Kotlin is favored for its advantages over Java, such as null safety and extension functions, recruiting skilled Kotlin developers poses a challenge for non-technical business owners and HR professionals. The provided guide offers assistance for interviews by outlining key questions and answers for assessing both junior and senior Kotlin developers. These questions cover essential topics such as Kotlin's basic constructs, data types, null safety, constructors, and unique features like data classes and deconstructing declarations, which help in identifying candidates who can contribute effectively to Android app development projects.

In the ongoing debate over the best Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for developers, IntelliJ IDEA has long been the preferred choice for Java developers, known for its robust Java-specific features and plugins. However, Microsoft Visual Studio Code (VS Code), a versatile text-based code editor with IDE capabilities, is rapidly gaining popularity due to its flexibility and support for multiple programming languages and frameworks. While VS Code has become a leader among JavaScript developers, it still faces challenges in supplanting IntelliJ in the Java community, where loyalty and familiarity play significant roles in IDE selection. The competition highlights a broader industry question of whether a single, universal IDE will emerge as the standard or if specialized, best-of-breed solutions will continue to prevail.