You can declare properties inside Kotlin classes in the same way you declare any other variable. These properties can be mutable (declared using var) or immutable (declared using val).

Here is an example –

// User class with a Primary constructor that accepts three parameters
class User(_id: Int, _name: String, _age: Int) {
    // Properties of User class
    val id: Int = _id         // Immutable (Read only)
    var name: String = _name  // Mutable
    var age: Int = _age       // Mutable
}

You can get or set the properties of an object using the dot(.) notation like so –

val user = User(1, "Jack Sparrow", 44)

// Getting a Property
val name = user.name

// Setting a Property
user.age = 46

// You cannot set read-only properties
user.id = 2	// Error: Val cannot be assigned

Getters and Setters

Kotlin internally generates a default getter and setter for mutable properties, and a getter (only) for read-only properties.

It calls these getters and setters internally whenever you access or modify a property using the dot(.) notation.

Here is how the User class that we saw in the previous section looks like with the default getters and setters –

class User(_id: Int, _name: String, _age: Int) {
    val id: Int = _id
        get() = field
    
    var name: String = _name
        get() = field
        set(value) {
            field = value
        }
    
    var age: Int = _age
        get() = field
        set(value) {
            field = value
        }
}

You might have noticed two strange identifiers in all the getter and setter methods – field and value.

Let’s understand what these identifiers are for –

1. value

We use value as the name of the setter parameter. This is the default convention in Kotlin but you’re free to use any other name if you want.

The value parameter contains the value that a property is assigned to. For example, when you write user.name = "Bill Gates", the value parameter contains the assigned value “Bill Gates”.

2. Backing Field (field)

Backing field helps you refer to the property inside the getter and setter methods. This is required because if you use the property directly inside the getter or setter then you’ll run into a recursive call which will generate a StackOverflowError.

Let’s see that in action. Let’s modify the User class and refer to the properties directly inside the getters and setters instead of using the field identifier –

class User(_name: String, _age: Int) {
    var name: String = _name
        get() = name		  // Calls the getter recursively

    var age: Int = _age
        set(value) {
            age = value		  // Calls the setter recursively
        }
}

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val user = User("Jack Sparrow", 44)

    // Getting a Property
    println("${user.name}") // StackOverflowError

    // Setting a Property
    user.age = 45           // StackOverflowError

}

The above program will generate a StackOverflowError due to the recursive calls in the getter and setter methods. This is why Kotlin has the concept of backing fields. It makes storing the property value in memory possible. When you initialize a property with a value in the class, the initializer value is written to the backing field of that property –

class User(_id: Int) {
    val id: Int	= _id   // The initializer value is written to the backing field of the property
}

A backing field is generated for a property if

• A custom getter/setter references it through the field identifier or,
• It uses the default implementation of at least one of the accessors (getter or setter). (Remember, the default getter and setter references the field identifier themselves)

For example, a backing field is not generated for the id property in the following class because it neither uses the default implementation of the getter nor refers to the field identifier in the custom getter –

class User() {
    val id	// No backing field is generated
        get() = 0
}

Since a backing field is not generated, you won’t be able to initialize the above property like so –

class User(_id: Int) {
    val id: Int = _id	//Error: Initialization not possible because no backing field is generated which could store the initialized value in memory
        get() = 0
}

Creating Custom Getters and Setters

You can ditch Kotlin’s default getter/setter and define a custom getter and setter for the properties of your class.

Here is an example –

class User(_id: Int, _name: String, _age: Int) {
    val id: Int = _id

    var name: String = _name 
        // Custom Getter
        get() {     
            return field.toUpperCase()
        }     

    var age: Int = _age
        // Custom Setter
        set(value) {
            field = if(value > 0) value else throw IllegalArgumentException("Age must be greater than zero")
        }
}

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val user = User(1, "Jack Sparrow", 44)

    println("${user.name}") // JACK SPARROW

    user.age = -1           // Throws IllegalArgumentException: Age must be greater that zero
}

Conclusion

Thanks for reading folks. In this article, You learned how Kotlin’s getters and setters work and how to define a custom getter and setter for the properties of a class.

Functions are the basic building block of any program. In this article, you’ll learn how to declare and call functions in Kotlin. You’ll also learn about Function scopes, Default arguments, Named Arguments, and Varargs.

Defining and Calling Functions

You can declare a function in Kotlin using the fun keyword. Following is a simple function that calculates the average of two numbers –

fun avg(a: Double, b: Double): Double {
    return  (a + b)/2
}

Calling a function is simple. You just need to pass the required number of parameters in the function name like this –

avg(4.6, 9.0)  // 6.8

Following is the general syntax of declaring a function in Kotlin.

fun functionName(param1: Type1, param2: Type2,..., paramN: TypeN): Type {
	// Method Body
}

Every function declaration has a function name, a list of comma-separated parameters, an optional return type, and a method body. The function parameters must be explicitly typed.

Single Expression Functions

You can omit the return type and the curly braces if the function returns a single expression. The return type is inferred by the compiler from the expression –

fun avg(a: Double, b: Double) = (a + b)/2
avg(10.0, 20.0)  // 15.0

Note that, Unlike other statically typed languages like Scala, Kotlin does not infer return types for functions with block bodies. Therefore, Functions with block body must always specify return types explicitly.

Unit returning Functions

Functions which don’t return anything has a return type of Unit. The Unit type corresponds to void in Java.

fun printAverage(a: Double, b: Double): Unit {
    println("Avg of ($a, $b) = ${(a + b)/2}")
}

printAverage(10.0, 30.0)  // Avg of (10.0, 30.0) = 20.0

Note that, the Unit type declaration is completely optional. So you can also write the above function declaration like this –

fun printAverage(a: Double, b: Double) {
    println("Avg of ($a, $b) = ${(a + b)/2}")
}

Function Default Arguments

Kotlin supports default arguments in function declarations. You can specify a default value for a function parameter. The default value is used when the corresponding argument is omitted from the function call.

Consider the following function for example –

fun displayGreeting(message: String, name: String = "Guest") {
    println("Hello $name, $message")
}

If you call the above function with two arguments, it works just like any other function and uses the values passed in the arguments –

displayGreeting("Welcome to the CalliCoder Blog", "John") // Hello John, Welcome to the CalliCoder Blog

However, If you omit the argument that has a default value from the function call, then the default value is used in the function body –

displayGreeting("Welcome to the CalliCoder Blog") // Hello Guest, Welcome to the CalliCoder Blog

If the function declaration has a default parameter preceding a non-default parameter, then the default value cannot be used while calling the function with position-based arguments.

Consider the following function –

fun arithmeticSeriesSum(a: Int = 1, n: Int, d: Int = 1): Int {
    return n/2 * (2*a + (n-1)*d)
}

While calling the above function, you can not omit the argument a from the function call and selectively pass a value for the non-default parameter n –

arithmeticSeriesSum(10) // error: no value passed for parameter n

When you call a function with position-based arguments, the first argument corresponds to the first parameter, the second argument corresponds to the second parameter, and so on.

So for passing a value for the 2nd parameter, you need to specify a value for the first parameter as well –

arithmeticSeriesSum(1, 10)  // Result = 55

However, The above use-case of selectively passing a value for a parameter is solved by another feature of Kotlin called Named Arguments.

Function Named Arguments

Kotlin allows you to specify the names of arguments that you’re passing to the function. This makes the function calls more readable. It also allows you to pass the value of a parameter selectively if other parameters have default values.

Consider the following arithmeticSeriesSum() function that we defined in the previous section –

fun arithmeticSeriesSum(a: Int = 1, n: Int, d: Int = 1): Int {
    return n/2 * (2*a + (n-1)*d)
}

You can specify the names of arguments while calling the function like this –

arithmeticSeriesSum(n=10)  // Result = 55

The above function call will use the default values for parameters a and d.

Similarly, you can call the function with all the parameters like this –

arithmeticSeriesSum(a=3, n=10, d=2)  // Result = 120

You can also reorder the arguments if you’re specifying the names –

arithmeticSeriesSum(n=10, d=2, a=3)  // Result = 120

You can use a mix of named arguments and position-based arguments as long as all the position-based arguments are placed before the named arguments –

arithmeticSeriesSum(3, n=10)  // Result = 75

The following function call is not allowed since it contains position-based arguments after named arguments –

arithmeticSeriesSum(n=10, 2) // error: mixing named and positioned arguments is not allowed

Variable Number of Arguments (Varargs)

You can pass a variable number of arguments to a function by declaring the function with a vararg parameter.

Consider the following sumOfNumbers() function which accepts a vararg of numbers –

fun sumOfNumbers(vararg numbers: Double): Double {
    var sum: Double = 0.0
    for(number in numbers) {
        sum += number
    }
    return sum
}

You can call the above function with any number of arguments –

sumOfNumbers(1.5, 2.0)  // Result = 3.5

sumOfNumbers(1.5, 2.0, 3.5, 4.0, 5.8, 6.2)  // Result = 23.0

sumOfNumbers(1.5, 2.0, 3.5, 4.0, 5.8, 6.2, 8.1, 12.4, 16.5)  // Result = 60.0

In Kotlin, a vararg parameter of type T is internally represented as an array of type T (Array<T>) inside the function body.

A function may have only one vararg parameter. If there are other parameters following the vararg parameter, then the values for those parameters can be passed using the named argument syntax –

fun sumOfNumbers(vararg numbers: Double, initialSum: Double): Double {
    var sum = initialSum
    for(number in numbers) {
        sum += number
    }
    return sum
}

sumOfNumbers(1.5, 2.5, initialSum=100.0) // Result = 104.0

Spread Operator

Usually, we pass the arguments to a vararg function one-by-one. But if you already have an array and want to pass the elements of the array to the vararg function, then you can use the spread operator like this –

val a = doubleArrayOf(1.5, 2.6, 5.4)
sumOfNumbers(*a)  // Result = 9.5

Function Scope

Kotlin supports functional programming. Functions are first-class citizens in the language.

Unlike Java where every function needs to be encapsulated inside a class, Kotlin functions can be defined at the top level in a source file.

In addition to top-level functions, you also have the ability to define member functions, local functions, and extension functions.

1. Top Level Functions

Top level functions in Kotlin are defined in a source file outside of any class. They are also called package level functions because they are a member of the package in which they are defined.

The main() method itself is a top-level function in Kotlin since it is defined outside of any class.

Let’s now see an example of a top-level function. Check out the following findNthFibonacciNo() function which is defined inside a package named maths –

package maths

fun findNthFibonacciNo(n: Int): Int {
    var a = 0
    var b = 1
    var c: Int

    if(n == 0) {
        return a
    }

    for(i in 2..n) {
        c = a+b
        a = b
        b = c
    }
    return b
}

You can access the above function directly inside the maths package –

package maths

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    println("10th fibonacci number is - ${findNthFibonacciNo(10)}")
}
//Outputs - 10th fibonacci number is - 55

However, If you want to call the findNthFibonacciNo() function from other packages, then you need to import it as in the following example –

package test
import maths.findNthFibonacciNo

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    println("10th fibonacci number is - ${findNthFibonacciNo(10)}")
}

2. Member Functions

Member functions are functions which are defined inside a class or an object.

class User(val firstName: String, val lastName: String) {

	// Member function
    fun getFullName(): String {
        return firstName + " " + lastName
    }
}

Member functions are called on the objects of the class using the dot(.) notation –

val user = User("Bill", "Gates") // Create an object of the class
println("Display Name : ${user.getFullName()}") // Call the member function

3. Local/Nested Functions

Kotlin allows you to nest function definitions. These nested functions are called Local functions. Local functions bring more encapsulation and readability to your program –

fun findBodyMassIndex(weightInKg: Double, heightInCm: Double): Double {
    // Validate the arguments
    if(weightInKg <= 0) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException("Weight must be greater than zero")
    }
    if(heightInCm <= 0) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException("Height must be greater than zero")
    }

    fun calculateBMI(weightInKg: Double, heightInCm: Double): Double {
        val heightInMeter = heightInCm / 100
        return weightInKg / (heightInMeter * heightInMeter)
    }

    // Calculate BMI using the nested function
    return calculateBMI(weightInKg, heightInCm)
}

Local functions can access local variables of the outer function. So the above function is equivalent to the following –

fun findBodyMassIndex(weightInKg: Double, heightInCm: Double): Double {
    if(weightInKg <= 0) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException("Weight must be greater than zero")
    }
    if(heightInCm <= 0) {
        throw IllegalArgumentException("Height must be greater than zero")
    }

	// Nested function has access to the local variables of the outer function
    fun calculateBMI(): Double {
        val heightInMeter = heightInCm / 100
        return weightInKg / (heightInMeter * heightInMeter)
    }

    return calculateBMI()
}

Conclusion

Congratulations folks! In this article, you learned how to define and call functions in Kotlin, how to use default and named arguments, how to define and call functions with a variable number of arguments, and how to define top-level functions, member functions and local/nested functions

In future articles, I’ll write about extension functions, higher order functions and lambdas. So Stay tuned!

As always, Thank you for reading. Happy Kotlin Koding 🙂

In the previous article, you learned how to create variables and what are various basic data types available in Kotlin for creating variables.

In this article, you’ll learn what are various operators provided by kotlin to perform operations on basic data types.

Operations on Numeric Types

Just like other languages, Kotlin provides various operators to perform computations on numbers –

• Arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /, %)
• Comparison operators (==, !=, <, >, <=, >=)
• Assignment operators (+=, -=, *=, /=, %=)
• Increment & Decrement operators (++, --)

Following are few examples that demonstrate the usage of above operators –

var a = 10
var b = 20
var c = ((a + b) * ( a + b))/2   // 450

var isALessThanB = a < b   // true

a++     // a now becomes 11
b += 5  // b equals to 25 now

Understanding how operators work in Kotlin

Everything in Kotlin is an object, even the basic data types like Int, Char, Double, Boolean etc. Kotlin doesn’t have separate primitive types and their corresponding boxed types like Java.

Note that Kotlin may represent basic types like Int, Char, Boolean etc. as primitive values at runtime to improve performance, but for the end users, all of them are objects.

Since all the data types are objects, the operations on these types are internally represented as function calls.

For example, the addition operation a + b between two numbers a and b is represented as a function call a.plus(b) –

var a = 4
var b = 5

println(a + b)

// equivalent to
println(a.plus(b))

All the operators that we looked at in the previous section have a symbolic name which is used to translate any expression containing those operators into the corresponding function calls –

You can check out other expressions and their corresponding function calls on Kotlin’s reference page.

The concept of translating such expressions to function calls enable operator overloading in Kotlin. For example, you can provide implementation for the plus function in a class defined by you, and then you’ll be able to add the objects of that class using + operator like this – object1 + object2.

Kotlin will automatically convert the addition operation object1 + object2 into the corresponding function call object1.plus(object2) (Think of a ComplexNumber class with the + operator overloaded).

You’ll learn more about operator overloading in a future article.

Note that the operations on basic types like Int, Char, Double, Boolean etc. are optimized and do not include the overhead of function calls.

Bitwise Operators

Unlike C, C++ and Java, Kotlin doesn’t have bitwise operators like |(bitwise-or), &(bitwise-and), ^(bitwise-xor), << (signed left shift), >>(signed right shift) etc.

For performing bitwise operations, Kotlin provides following methods that work for Int and Long types –

• shl – signed shift left (equivalent of << operator)
• shr – signed shift right (equivalent of >> operator)
• ushr– unsigned shift right (equivalent of >>> operator)
• and – bitwise and (equivalent of & operator)
• or – bitwise or (equivalent of | operator)
• xor – bitwise xor (equivalent of ^ operator)
• inv – bitwise complement (equivalent of ~ operator)

Here are few examples demonstrating how to use above functions –

1 shl 2   // Equivalent to 1.shl(2), Result = 4
16 shr 2  // Result = 4
2 and 4   // Result = 0
2 or 3    // Result = 3
4 xor 5   // Result = 1
4.inv()   // Result = -5

All the bitwise functions, except inv(), can be called using infix notation. The infix notation of 2.and(4) is 2 and 4. Infix notation allows you to write function calls in a more intuitive way.

Operations on Boolean Types

Kotlin supports following logical operators for performing operations on boolean types –

• || – Logical OR
• && – Logical AND
• !   – Logical NOT

Here are few examples of logical operators –

2 == 2 && 4 != 5  // true
4 > 5 && 2 < 7    // false
!(7 > 12 || 14 < 18)  // false

Logical operators are generally used in control flow statements like if, if-else, while etc., to test the validity of a condition.

Operations on Strings

String Concatenation

The + operator is overloaded for String types. It performs String concatenation –

var firstName = "Rajeev"
var lastName = "Singh"
var fullName = firstName + " " + lastName	// "Rajeev Singh"

String Interpolation

Kotlin has an amazing feature called String Interpolation. This feature allows you to directly insert a template expression inside a String. Template expressions are tiny pieces of code that are evaluated and their results are concatenated with the original String.

A template expression is prefixed with $ symbol. Following is an example of String interpolation –

var a = 12
var b = 18
println("Avg of $a and $b is equal to ${ (a + b)/2 }") 

// Prints - Avg of 12 and 18 is equal to 15

If the template expression is a simple variable, you can write it like $variableName. If it is an expression then you need to insert it inside a ${} block.

Conclusion

That’s all folks! In this article, you learned what are various operators provided in Kotlin to perform operations on Numbers, Booleans, and Strings. You also learned how the expressions containing operators are translated to function calls internally.

As always, Thank you for reading.