Kotlin – Course Syllabus

1. Advanced Kotlin Language Features

• Functional programming in Kotlin: Lambdas, inline functions

• Kotlin's type system and null safety

• Extension functions, infix notation, and operator overloading

• DSL construction and use cases

• Reflection and annotations

2. Kotlin Application Architecture

• Clean Architecture principles

• MVVM and MVI patterns in Kotlin applications

• Dependency Injection with Koin and Dagger/Hilt (in non-Android projects)

• Modularity and multi-module project setup

• Managing state with sealed classes, StateFlow, and SharedFlow

3. Networking and APIs

• Ktor client/server for network communication

• Serialization with Kotlinx Serialization and Moshi

• Error handling and retry logic in HTTP calls

• Building and consuming RESTful APIs with Kotlin

4. Data Storage & Persistence

• Working with SQLDelight, Exposed, and other Kotlin-first database tools

• File I/O and serialization formats (JSON, ProtoBuf, XML)

• Secure data storage and encryption strategies

• In-memory and on-disk caching strategies

5. Concurrency & Background Processing

• Kotlin Coroutines: basics to advanced

• Structured concurrency and coroutine scopes

• Channels and Flows for reactive programming

• Writing thread-safe code with Mutex and SharedFlow

6. Kotlin for Desktop, Web, and Multiplatform

• JetBrains Compose for Desktop UI

• Kotlin/JS for web applications

• Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP): sharing code across Android, iOS, Desktop

• Interop with Swift, JavaScript, and Java

7. Testing and Debugging in Kotlin

• Unit testing with JUnit5, Kotest, and MockK

• Integration testing strategies

• Benchmarking and performance profiling

• Debugging Kotlin with IntelliJ and logging best practices

8. Build Tools and DevOps Integration

• Gradle Kotlin DSL (build.gradle.kts)

• Creating and publishing Kotlin libraries

• Static code analysis: Detekt and Ktlint

• CI/CD setup with GitHub Actions or GitLab CI
  
  

9. Performance & Optimization

• Inline functions and performance trade-offs

• Memory management and JVM internals

• Profiling Kotlin applications

• Best practices for optimizing startup and runtime performance

10. Real-World Projects & Interview Preparation

• Build Kotlin apps: CLI tools, REST API server, Desktop tools

• Code reviews and architecture deep-dives

• Kotlin-specific interview questions and problem-solving

• Contribution to open-source Kotlin projects

1. What is Kotlin?
    Kotlin is a statically typed programming language developed by JetBrains, fully interoperable with Java, and designed for concise, safe, and expressive code.
2. How is Kotlin better than Java?
    Kotlin offers null safety, concise syntax, smart casts, extension functions, and coroutines, reducing boilerplate and common runtime errors.
3. What is a data class in Kotlin?
    A data class automatically provides methods like toString(), equals(), and copy() for holding immutable data.
4. What are Kotlin Coroutines used for?
    Coroutines simplify asynchronous programming by enabling non-blocking, concurrent operations in a readable way.
5. How do you handle null safety in Kotlin?
    Kotlin uses nullable types (e.g., String?) and safe call operators (?.) to prevent NullPointerException.
6. What is Jetpack in Android development?
    Jetpack is a suite of Android libraries including ViewModel, LiveData, Room, Navigation, and others that support modern app architecture.
7. What is the difference between val and var in Kotlin?
    val is used for read-only (immutable) variables, while var is for mutable variables.
8. What is Ktor in Kotlin?
    Ktor is a framework for building asynchronous servers and web applications in Kotlin.
9. Can Kotlin be used for backend development?
    Yes, Kotlin can be used with frameworks like Ktor and Spring Boot for building scalable server-side applications.
10. How do you use Retrofit in Kotlin?
     Retrofit is used to make network API calls in Android/Kotlin apps, usually combined with Coroutines and Gson for JSON parsing.