The worst thing about kotlin is the intellij lock in. VSCode support is exceptionally poor and that makes using modern AI tooling (like cursor) a pain.

▲ kle 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I agree, but I can strongly recommend Claude Code with the Intellij plugin. Actually works pretty great for kotlin!

And, JetBrains finally started working on an open language server. It's not perfect but it makes it bearable to at least edit Kotlin in Cursor/VS Code.

https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/27310-claude-code-beta- https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlin-lsp

▲ cardanome 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I just have Cursor open in another window for the agent mode while I do my editing with intellij (or other jetbrains products).

I would never voluntary do any editing in VS Code or forks of it. It is just so slugish on large files. Plus there is always subtle things that annoy me, I can't even describe it, it just feels off. I hope Zed takes off as it is a bit more tolerable though still not there yet.

▲ jlengrand 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Won’t be true for long any more since they just officially announced they’ll be releasing the language server.

▲ simon_void a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Jetbrains is working on an LSP: https://github.com/Kotlin/kotlin-lsp It was announced at KotlinConf 2025.

▲ PaulHoule 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Java has also improved greatly since JDK 7 so the need for JDK languages that are Java, but just a little better, is less than it was.

▲ BrandonSmith 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Kotlin ecosystem extends way beyond the Java runtime. I have apps developed in Kotlin running in browsers and iOS, in addition to Android.

	▲	vips7L 11 hours ago \| parent [-]
		You can do that in Java too. TeaVM, JavaFX, pick your poison.

▲ smith7018 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Kotlin is much better than "Java, but just a little better."

▲ c03 2 days ago | parent [-]

Kotlin has everything. A language isn't better just because it has more.

Its great for DSLs though.

▲ PaulHoule 2 days ago | parent [-]

Java is pretty good for DSLs too.

▲ ohdeargodno 2 days ago | parent [-]

Language.Builder().getOh().getYes().getJava().getIsSoNice().setFor(() -> { return "DSLs";});

No trailing lambdas, no infix operators, no @DslMarkers, no top level functions, and an infinite list of examples of Java verbosity making even the smallest thing look like an ancient greek epic. Java is utterly terrible for DSLs.

▲ vips7L 2 days ago | parent [-]

   Language {
       oh {
           yes {
              Java {
                  isSoNice
           }
       }
   }

You can contrive awfulness in any language.

▲ PaulHoule 2 days ago | parent [-]

The awfulness of one style of Java DSL is the awfulness of Lisp, that is

  building(of(S("expressions"),everything())

	▲	vips7L 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		Not going to lie, my brain doesn't really comprehend lisp. So the joke (or point?) is way over my head.

▲ llm_nerd 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

When did you last use IntelliJ? It has excellent AI tooling.