Multiplatform Projects (Preview) - Kotlin Programming Language

Support for multiplatform programming is one of Kotlin’s key benefits. 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 section and Kotlin Multiplatform Hands-on: Networking and Data Storage, where you will create an application for Android and iOS that includes 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 hands-on, 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.