Kotlin Development

Kotlin Development (2.1+)

Modern Kotlin best practices for writing concise, safe, and idiomatic code. Targets Kotlin 2.1+ on the JVM — language and stdlib only, no frameworks or libraries.

Reference Files

• references/type-system.md — Generics, variance, smart casts, inline/value classes, Nothing, SAM conversions
• references/patterns.md — Scope functions, sealed hierarchies, delegation, extensions, DSL builders, domain modeling, error handling guide
• references/coroutines.md — Flow, StateFlow/SharedFlow, Channels, exception handling, cancellation, testing
• references/project-structure.md — build.gradle.kts, multi-module, compiler options, testing setup
• references/static-analysis.md — Detekt (setup, detekt.yml, rule sets, custom rules, baseline, Compose rules), ktlint (setup, .editorconfig, standard rules, Spotless), Detekt vs ktlint comparison, multi-module convention plugin, pre-commit hooks

Code Style

• Short functions — target under 15 lines. If a block needs a comment to explain it, extract it into a well-named function.
• Imports at the top — never use inline fully-qualified types (java.time.LocalDateTime) in the code body. Use import aliases for naming conflicts. No wildcard imports.

Naming Conventions

Null Safety

val name: String? = findUser()?.name   // safe call
val length = name?.length ?: 0          // elvis — default for null

NEVER use !! to silence the compiler — it crashes at runtime. Acceptable only with a provable invariant and a comment explaining why.

Safe patterns

user?.let { sendEmail(it) }                              // nullable transform
requireNotNull(id) { "id must not be null" }             // precondition + smart cast
val names: List<String> = users.mapNotNull { it.name }   // filter nulls

Type System

Kotlin infers types aggressively. Annotate explicitly for public API, when the inferred type is too broad, or when readability benefits.

// Inferred — fine for locals
val count = items.size

// Explicit — public API
fun findUser(id: String): User? { ... }

For generics (in/out variance, star projection, reified types), type aliases, smart casts, and value classes, see references/type-system.md.

Data Modeling

data class — value containers

data class User(val id: String, val name: String, val email: String)

MUST use val properties. ALWAYS prefer data classes over Map<String, Any> — maps lose type safety, autocompletion, and refactoring support.

sealed class / sealed interface — restricted hierarchies

sealed interface Result<out T> {
    data class Success<T>(val value: T) : Result<T>
    data class Failure(val error: Throwable) : Result<Nothing>
}

Enables exhaustive when. Prefer sealed interface when subtypes don't share state.

value class — zero-cost wrappers

@JvmInline
value class UserId(val value: String)

@JvmInline
value class Email(val value: String) {
    init { require(value.contains("@")) { "Invalid email: $value" } }
}

Use to prevent primitive obsession — the compiler catches swapped parameters.

Precision arithmetic

Never use Double/Float for monetary values. Use BigDecimal (construct from String, never Double) with explicit MathContext, or Long (cents) with a value class wrapper. See references/patterns.md for full patterns.

Error Handling

// Custom hierarchy
open class AppException(message: String, cause: Throwable? = null) : RuntimeException(message, cause)
class ValidationException(message: String) : AppException(message)
class NotFoundException(message: String) : AppException(message)

// runCatching for functional error handling
val name = runCatching { fetchUser(id) }.map { it.name }.getOrDefault("Unknown")

// Sealed result for expected business outcomes
sealed interface FetchResult {
    data class Found(val user: User) : FetchResult
    data object NotFound : FetchResult
    data class Error(val reason: String) : FetchResult
}

Rules:

• ALWAYS use require() for argument validation, check() for state validation.
• MUST catch the narrowest exception. NEVER catch Throwable unless re-throwing.
• Prefer sealed hierarchies over exceptions for expected outcomes.
• See references/patterns.md for the full error handling decision guide.

Coroutines Essentials

suspend fun fetchUser(id: String): User = httpClient.get("users/$id")

suspend fun loadDashboard(): Dashboard = coroutineScope {
    val user = async { fetchUser(userId) }
    val orders = async { fetchOrders(userId) }
    Dashboard(user.await(), orders.await())
}

Rules:

• MUST use structured concurrency — NEVER use GlobalScope.
• coroutineScope when all must succeed; supervisorScope when partial failure is OK.
• launch for fire-and-forget; async when you need the result.
• NEVER swallow CancellationException — ALWAYS rethrow it.
• Use withContext(Dispatchers.IO) for blocking I/O; Dispatchers.Default for CPU work.

For Flow, Channels, exception handling, cancellation patterns, timeouts, and testing, see references/coroutines.md.

Project Structure

project-name/
├── build.gradle.kts
├── settings.gradle.kts
├── gradle/libs.versions.toml
├── src/
│   ├── main/kotlin/com/example/project/
│   └── test/kotlin/com/example/project/
└── gradlew

• Use Gradle Kotlin DSL and version catalog (libs.versions.toml).
• Organize by domain, not by technical role.
• One class per file; file name matches class name.

For build.gradle.kts config, multi-module setup, compiler options, and testing, see references/project-structure.md.

Idiomatic Patterns

• buildList / buildMap / buildString for constructing collections and strings.
• groupBy, associateBy, partition, flatMap for collection transformations.
• Sequence for lazy evaluation of large collections.
• use for auto-closeable resource management.
• Collection operations over loops: users.filter { it.age >= 18 }.map { it.name }

Scope functions quick reference

For the complete decision guide, see references/patterns.md.

Testable Design

• Constructor injection — accept dependencies as constructor parameters, never instantiate internally.
• Depend on interfaces at module boundaries.
• Fakes over mocks — write simple in-memory implementations.
• Pure core logic — push I/O to the edges, keep business logic in pure functions.

For full patterns, see references/patterns.md.

Quick Reference: Common Mistakes