Hey there Droids and Droidettes! You've heard it all, yes? AI, Bard, at this rate we might just be starring in another episode of Love, Death and Robots (Well, especially the Love bit after Jack Siro's confession 😏)
Google I/O Recap
The Google I/O Recap featured two speakers: Theophillus Kibet and Mambo Bryan. They gave presentations detailing the fresh and new updates made in Android:
Android Highlights
Theo started off by highlighting the well-recieved Android 14 (Beta Version) which boasts susbstantial improvements, the main one being enhanced Privacy and Security. This was backed up by the Credential Manager which is set to utilise passkeys and passwords for a more security-driven sign in experience. Theo also talked about the latest updates and improvements in Jetpack Compose:
- Text improvements, mainly the native inclusion of Emojis 😜
- Flow Layout improvements in both the Row and Column dimensions.
- Tooling enhancements which has teased the release of several tools, the most notable one being Studio Bot (Take that ChatGPT!)
- Introduction of Date and Time Pickers in Material Compose as well as Animations in Predictive Navigation.
Theo concluded by outlining and illustrating the newly released features of Google Play including the Update Prompt, Data Deletion (Privacy and Security), Ad Campaigns (Marketing), Inactive Users and Translations (Insights).
Kotlin Updates
Mambo Bryan lit up Kotlin developers' hearts by announcing the new approach taken to build the latest Kotlin Compiler involving the full adoption of Kotlin as opposed to the 'J' word. He emphasized how Kotlin 2.0 is projected to reduce build and compilation times, thus reiterating Kotlin's agenda of having fun while coding. Mambo discussed the new Kotlin DSL features: Precise code hinting, optional version catalogs integration, more documentation and probably the most important one, real time error handling without need to sync the project (Groovy had it coming). Mambo finalised by announcing the importance of using KSP in future code generation as opposed to KAPT.
Other Business
As if the talks weren't enough, the speakers joined by Tamre Frank, participated in a AMA (Ask Me Anything) which was moderated by Harun Wangereka who posed them juicy questions from Slido.com to which they heartily answered. BY THE WAY, the call for speakers for the monthly meetups is still on. Interested in giving a talk? Then feel free to submit an abstract of your preferred topic here
May 2023 Kotlin Challenge
As per the usual we have this month's challenge for those who'd like to test their mettle in the Kotlin language.
This month we're giving away two Jetbrains licenses for the first two people to solve this month's challenge
import junit.framework.TestCase.assertEquals
import junit.framework.TestCase.assertTrue
class PrintingScope(val separator: String = "|")
context(PrintingScope)
fun <K, V> Map<K,V>.customPrint(): String = this.map { (k,v) -> "$k:$v" }.joinToString("$separator")
fun main() {
val scope = PrintingScope()
val map = mapOf("a" to 1, "b" to 2, "c" to 3)
assertEquals(
"a:1|b:2|c:3", // expected
evaluate(scope, map) // actual
)
println("Everything Passed!!!")
}
/**
* Without changing anything above
* Write an evaluate function that makes the test case pass
*/
You can start by creating the evaluate function
Droidcon Kenya Updates
The largest android developer event in Africa has finally announced it's dates. This year droidconke is happening from the 8th to 10th November 2023. Ensure you clear your calendars and also look forward for the Call For Speakers (CFS). Follow DroidconKE here for more future updates. If you'd like to sponsor 💸 💸 this event head over to this page.
KotlinConf'23 Videos
KotlinConf'23 happened a few months ago and we got a chance to listen to Kotlin updates along with very nice technical sessions. Incase you didn't have the opportunity to livestream it, the recorded sessions have been uploaded on YouTube and you can watch them. Click here for more.
Saving The Best For Last 🎉
And this last one is truly the best news. We'd like to congratulate 🎉 one of our community members Beatrice Kinya on becoming an Android GDE (Google Developer Expert) 🤩. We're looking forward to more amazing contributions... 🎉 You can also join us in congratulating her here. 🥳🥳🥳
Featured
| REPOSITORIES |
|---|
| ML Kit Sample |
| Gamepedia |
| CookIt |
| Simple TODO List Ktor Backend |
| OnBoarding |
| VIDEOS |
|---|
| Migrating to Kotlin Scripts and Version Catalog |
| Error Handling and Unit Testing: MVI Compose Weather App |
| Apps |
|---|
| Palette Lab |
You can also suggest any article, library, video or podcast for upcoming newsletters. Click here to submit!
That's it folks till next time, happy coding & HAVE A NICE KOTLIN!