Kotlin Multiplatform
The Kotlin Multiplatform technology is designed to simplify the development of cross-platform projects. It reduces time spent writing and maintaining the same code for different platforms while retaining the flexibility and benefits of native programming.
Kotlin Multiplatform use cases
Android and iOS applications
Sharing code between mobile platforms is one of the major Kotlin Multiplatform use cases. With Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile, you can build cross-platform mobile applications and share common code between Android and iOS, such as business logic, connectivity, and more.
Check out the Get started with Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile and Create a multiplatform app using Ktor and SQLDelight tutorials, where you will create applications for Android and iOS that include a module with shared code for both platforms.
Full-stack web applications
Another scenario when code sharing may bring benefits is a connected application where the logic can be reused on both the server and the client side running in the browser. This is covered by Kotlin Multiplatform as well.
See Build a full-stack web app with Kotlin Multiplatform tutorial, where you will create a connected application consisting of a server part, using Kotlin/JVM and a web client, using Kotlin/JS.
Multiplatform libraries
Kotlin Multiplatform is also useful for library authors. You can create a multiplatform library with common code and its platform-specific implementations for JVM, JS, and Native platforms. Once published, a multiplatform library can be used in other cross-platform projects as a dependency.
See the Create and publish a multiplatform library tutorial, where you will create a multiplatform library, test it, and publish it to Maven.
Common code for mobile and web applications
One more popular case for using Kotlin Multiplatform is sharing the same code across Android, iOS, and web apps. It reduces the amount of business logic coded by frontend developers and helps implement products more efficiently, decreasing the coding and testing efforts.
See the RSS Reader sample project — a cross-platform application for iOS and Android with desktop and web clients implemented as experimental features.
How Kotlin Multiplatform works
Common Kotlin includes the language, core libraries, and basic tools. Code written in common Kotlin works everywhere on all platforms.
With Kotlin Multiplatform libraries, you can reuse the multiplatform logic in common and platform-specific code. Common code can rely on a set of libraries that cover everyday tasks such as HTTP, serialization, and managing coroutines.
To interop with platforms, use platform-specific versions of Kotlin. Platform-specific versions of Kotlin (Kotlin/JVM, Kotlin/JS, Kotlin/Native) include extensions to the Kotlin language, and platform-specific libraries and tools.
Through these platforms you can access the platform native code (JVM, JS, and Native) and leverage all native capabilities.
Code sharing between platforms
With Kotlin Multiplatform, spend less time on writing and maintaining the same code for different platforms – just share it using the mechanisms Kotlin provides:
Share code among all platforms used in your project. Use it for sharing the common business logic that applies to all platforms.
Share code among some platforms included in your project but not all. Do this when you can reuse much of the code in similar platforms:
If you need to access platform-specific APIs from the shared code, use the Kotlin mechanism of expected and actual declarations.
Get started
Start with the Get started with Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile if you want to create iOS and Android applications with shared code
Look through sharing code principles and examples if you want to create applications or libraries targeting other platforms
Sample projects
Look through cross-platform application samples to understand how Kotlin Multiplatform works: