Java and Kotlin

Purpose

Write JVM code that uses the modern language surface — records, sealed types, pattern matching, coroutines — instead of the 2010-era idioms most JVM codebases are still carrying.

When to Use

• Writing or reviewing Java 17+ or Kotlin.
• Migrating a codebase off Java 8 idioms.
• Designing domain models with records and sealed interfaces.
• Introducing coroutines to replace callback or thread-pool code.
• Diagnosing JVM memory, GC, or startup problems.

Capabilities

• Java: records, sealed interfaces, pattern matching for switch, virtual threads, Optional discipline.
• Kotlin: coroutines, structured concurrency, flows, null safety, delegation, DSL builders.
• Java/Kotlin interop, including platform-type null hazards.
• Build configuration for Gradle (Kotlin DSL) and Maven.
• JVM tuning: heap sizing, GC selection, JFR profiling.

Inputs

• Source module, build file, and target JVM version.
• Whether the code is a library (binary compatibility matters) or an application.

Outputs

• Modern, immutable-by-default domain types.
• Concurrency that is structured and cancellable.
• Build configuration pinned to a specific toolchain.

Workflow

1. Model — Domain values as records (Java) or data classes (Kotlin). Variants as sealed interfaces.
2. Match exhaustively — Use pattern-matching switch / when so a new variant becomes a compile error.
3. Structure concurrency — Virtual threads (Java 21+) or coroutine scopes tied to a lifecycle.
4. Guard nulls at the interop line — Every value crossing from Java into Kotlin is a platform type; annotate or validate it.
5. Gate — Compile with warnings as errors; run SpotBugs/detekt and the test suite.

Best Practices

• Never return null from a public API. Return Optional, an empty collection, or a sealed "absent" variant.
• Records are for data, not for behavior with hidden state. Keep them free of mutable references.
• In Kotlin, !! is a defect marker. If you cannot remove it, the type is lying.
• Never launch a coroutine in GlobalScope. It has no cancellation owner.
• Prefer runCatching only in application boundaries; libraries throw typed exceptions.
• Pin the toolchain in the build file so the JVM version is not an environment variable.

Examples

Sealed model with exhaustive matching (Java 21):

sealed interface Payment permits Card, Transfer, Wallet {}

record Card(String last4, YearMonth expiry) implements Payment {}
record Transfer(String iban) implements Payment {}
record Wallet(String provider, String token) implements Payment {}

static String describe(Payment payment) {
    return switch (payment) {
        case Card c      -> "Card ending %s".formatted(c.last4());
        case Transfer t  -> "Transfer to %s".formatted(t.iban());
        case Wallet w    -> "%s wallet".formatted(w.provider());
    };
}

Structured concurrency in Kotlin:

suspend fun loadDashboard(userId: String): Dashboard = coroutineScope {
    val profile = async { userService.profile(userId) }
    val orders  = async { orderService.recent(userId, limit = 10) }
    Dashboard(profile.await(), orders.await())
}

Notes

• Virtual threads (Java 21) remove most reasons to use a reactive framework for I/O-bound work. They do not help CPU-bound work.
• coroutineScope propagates cancellation to children and rethrows the first failure; supervisorScope isolates failures. Choose deliberately.
• Kotlin's Flow is cold. Collecting it twice runs the producer twice — a common source of duplicated API calls.