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Kotlin Development Patterns

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Apply idiomatic Kotlin practices for robust applications.

by affaan-m239.3k stars on affaan-m/ecc
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Updated Aug 10, 2026
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What Kotlin Development Patterns does

Kotlin Development Patterns is a skill designed to help developers and designers apply idiomatic Kotlin practices when building applications. It focuses on essential principles such as null safety, immutability, and structured concurrency, ensuring that your Kotlin code is robust, efficient, and maintainable. The skill provides guidance on using features like coroutines, data classes, sealed classes, and DSL builders, which are crucial for modern Kotlin development.

This skill is particularly useful when writing new Kotlin code, reviewing existing code, or refactoring projects. It emphasizes best practices that leverage Kotlin's type system and functional programming capabilities, making it easier to create clean and understandable code. The skill also includes practical examples that illustrate the application of these principles in real-world scenarios, helping you to grasp their importance and implementation.

Whether you are designing modules or libraries in Kotlin or configuring builds with Gradle Kotlin DSL, this skill serves as a valuable reference. It covers seven key areas that enhance the quality of your code, ensuring that you adhere to Kotlin's conventions and idioms. By following the guidelines provided, you can improve the maintainability and efficiency of your applications, making them more reliable and easier to work with over time.

When to use it

Use this skill when you are writing new Kotlin code, reviewing existing code, or designing libraries and modules.

When not to use it

This skill may not be suitable for projects that require non-idiomatic Kotlin or those that do not prioritize best practices in Kotlin development.

What you can build with it

Writing New Kotlin Code

When starting a new Kotlin project, use this skill to ensure that you are following idiomatic practices from the outset.

Reviewing Existing Code

Leverage this skill during code reviews to identify areas where code can be improved by applying Kotlin best practices.

Refactoring for Maintainability

Utilize the guidance in this skill to refactor existing Kotlin code, making it more efficient and easier to maintain.

How to install Kotlin Development Patterns

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Inside SKILL.md

Written by affaan-m

Patrones de Desarrollo Kotlin

Patrones idiomáticos de Kotlin y buenas prácticas para construir aplicaciones robustas, eficientes y mantenibles.

Cuándo Usar

  • Escribir nuevo código Kotlin
  • Revisar código Kotlin
  • Refactorizar código Kotlin existente
  • Diseñar módulos o librerías Kotlin
  • Configurar builds con Gradle Kotlin DSL

Cómo Funciona

Este skill aplica convenciones idiomáticas de Kotlin en siete áreas clave: null safety usando el sistema de tipos y operadores de llamada segura, inmutabilidad mediante val y copy() en data classes, clases selladas e interfaces para jerarquías de tipos exhaustivas, concurrencia estructurada con coroutines y Flow, funciones de extensión para agregar comportamiento sin herencia, builders de DSL type-safe usando @DslMarker y receptores lambda, y Gradle Kotlin DSL para configuración de build.

Ejemplos

Null safety con el operador Elvis:

fun getUserEmail(userId: String): String {
    val user = userRepository.findById(userId)
    return user?.email ?: "unknown@example.com"
}

Sealed class para resultados exhaustivos:

sealed class Result<out T> {
    data class Success<T>(val data: T) : Result<T>()
    data class Failure(val error: AppError) : Result<Nothing>()
    data object Loading : Result<Nothing>()
}

Concurrencia estructurada con async/await:

suspend fun fetchUserWithPosts(userId: String): UserProfile =
    coroutineScope {
        val user = async { userService.getUser(userId) }
        val posts = async { postService.getUserPosts(userId) }
        UserProfile(user = user.await(), posts = posts.await())
    }

Principios Fundamentales

1. Null Safety

El sistema de tipos de Kotlin distingue tipos nullable de no-nullable. Aprovecharlo al máximo.

// Bien: Usar tipos no-nullable por defecto
fun getUser(id: String): User {
    return userRepository.findById(id)
        ?: throw UserNotFoundException("User $id not found")
}

// Bien: Llamadas seguras y operador Elvis
fun getUserEmail(userId: String): String {
    val user = userRepository.findById(userId)
    return user?.email ?: "unknown@example.com"
}

// Mal: Desempaquetar forzadamente tipos nullable
fun getUserEmail(userId: String): String {
    val user = userRepository.findById(userId)
    return user!!.email // Lanza NPE si es null
}

2. Inmutabilidad por Defecto

Preferir val sobre var, colecciones inmutables sobre mutables.

// Bien: Datos inmutables
data class User(
    val id: String,
    val name: String,
    val email: String,
)

// Bien: Transformar con copy()
fun updateEmail(user: User, newEmail: String): User =
    user.copy(email = newEmail)

// Bien: Colecciones inmutables
val users: List<User> = listOf(user1, user2)
val filtered = users.filter { it.email.isNotBlank() }

// Mal: Estado mutable
var currentUser: User? = null // Evitar estado global mutable
val mutableUsers = mutableListOf<User>() // Evitar a menos que sea realmente necesario

3. Cuerpos de Expresión y Funciones de Una Sola Expresión

Usar cuerpos de expresión para funciones concisas y legibles.

// Bien: Cuerpo de expresión
fun isAdult(age: Int): Boolean = age >= 18

fun formatFullName(first: String, last: String): String =
    "$first $last".trim()

fun User.displayName(): String =
    name.ifBlank { email.substringBefore('@') }

// Bien: When como expresión
fun statusMessage(code: Int): String = when (code) {
    200 -> "OK"
    404 -> "Not Found"
    500 -> "Internal Server Error"
    else -> "Unknown status: $code"
}

// Mal: Cuerpo de bloque innecesario
fun isAdult(age: Int): Boolean {
    return age >= 18
}

4. Data Classes para Objetos de Valor

Usar data classes para tipos que principalmente contienen datos.

// Bien: Data class con copy, equals, hashCode, toString
data class CreateUserRequest(
    val name: String,
    val email: String,
    val role: Role = Role.USER,
)

// Bien: Value class para type safety (cero overhead en tiempo de ejecución)
@JvmInline
value class UserId(val value: String) {
    init {
        require(value.isNotBlank()) { "UserId cannot be blank" }
    }
}

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

fun getUser(id: UserId): User = userRepository.findById(id)

Clases Selladas e Interfaces

Modelar Jerarquías Restringidas

// Bien: Sealed class para when exhaustivo
sealed class Result<out T> {
    data class Success<T>(val data: T) : Result<T>()
    data class Failure(val error: AppError) : Result<Nothing>()
    data object Loading : Result<Nothing>()
}

fun <T> Result<T>.getOrNull(): T? = when (this) {
    is Result.Success -> data
    is Result.Failure -> null
    is Result.Loading -> null
}

fun <T> Result<T>.getOrThrow(): T = when (this) {
    is Result.Success -> data
    is Result.Failure -> throw error.toException()
    is Result.Loading -> throw IllegalStateException("Still loading")
}

Sealed Interfaces para Respuestas de API

sealed interface ApiError {
    val message: String

    data class NotFound(override val message: String) : ApiError
    data class Unauthorized(override val message: String) : ApiError
    data class Validation(
        override val message: String,
        val field: String,
    ) : ApiError
    data class Internal(
        override val message: String,
        val cause: Throwable? = null,
    ) : ApiError
}

fun ApiError.toStatusCode(): Int = when (this) {
    is ApiError.NotFound -> 404
    is ApiError.Unauthorized -> 401
    is ApiError.Validation -> 422
    is ApiError.Internal -> 500
}

Funciones de Scope

Cuándo Usar Cada Una

// let: Transformar resultado nullable o delimitado
val length: Int? = name?.let { it.trim().length }

// apply: Configurar un objeto (retorna el objeto)
val user = User().apply {
    name = "Alice"
    email = "alice@example.com"
}

// also: Efectos secundarios (retorna el objeto)
val user = createUser(request).also { logger.info("Created user: ${it.id}") }

// run: Ejecutar un bloque con receptor (retorna resultado)
val result = connection.run {
    prepareStatement(sql)
    executeQuery()
}

// with: Forma no-extensión de run
val csv = with(StringBuilder()) {
    appendLine("name,email")
    users.forEach { appendLine("${it.name},${it.email}") }
    toString()
}

Anti-Patrones

// Mal: Anidar funciones de scope
user?.let { u ->
    u.address?.let { addr ->
        addr.city?.let { city ->
            println(city) // Difícil de leer
        }
    }
}

// Bien: Encadenar llamadas seguras en su lugar
val city = user?.address?.city
city?.let { println(it) }

Funciones de Extensión

Agregar Funcionalidad Sin Herencia

// Bien: Extensiones específicas del dominio
fun String.toSlug(): String =
    lowercase()
        .replace(Regex("[^a-z0-9\\s-]"), "")
        .replace(Regex("\\s+"), "-")
        .trim('-')

fun Instant.toLocalDate(zone: ZoneId = ZoneId.systemDefault()): LocalDate =
    atZone(zone).toLocalDate()

// Bien: Extensiones de colecciones
fun <T> List<T>.second(): T = this[1]

fun <T> List<T>.secondOrNull(): T? = getOrNull(1)

// Bien: Extensiones delimitadas (sin contaminar el namespace global)
class UserService {
    private fun User.isActive(): Boolean =
        status == Status.ACTIVE && lastLogin.isAfter(Instant.now().minus(30, ChronoUnit.DAYS))

    fun getActiveUsers(): List<User> = userRepository.findAll().filter { it.isActive() }
}

Coroutines

Concurrencia Estructurada

// Bien: Concurrencia estructurada con coroutineScope
suspend fun fetchUserWithPosts(userId: String): UserProfile =
    coroutineScope {
        val userDeferred = async { userService.getUser(userId) }
        val postsDeferred = async { postService.getUserPosts(userId) }

        UserProfile(
            user = userDeferred.await(),
            posts = postsDeferred.await(),
        )
    }

// Bien: supervisorScope cuando los hijos pueden fallar independientemente
suspend fun fetchDashboard(userId: String): Dashboard =
    supervisorScope {
        val user = async { userService.getUser(userId) }
        val notifications = async { notificationService.getRecent(userId) }
        val recommendations = async { recommendationService.getFor(userId) }

        Dashboard(
            user = user.await(),
            notifications = try {
                notifications.await()
            } catch (e: CancellationException) {
                throw e
            } catch (e: Exception) {
                emptyList()
            },
            recommendations = try {
                recommendations.await()
            } catch (e: CancellationException) {
                throw e
            } catch (e: Exception) {
                emptyList()
            },
        )
    }

Flow para Streams Reactivos

// Bien: Flow frío con manejo de errores adecuado
fun observeUsers(): Flow<List<User>> = flow {
    while (currentCoroutineContext().isActive) {
        val users = userRepository.findAll()
        emit(users)
        delay(5.seconds)
    }
}.catch { e ->
    logger.error("Error observing users", e)
    emit(emptyList())
}

// Bien: Operadores de Flow
fun searchUsers(query: Flow<String>): Flow<List<User>> =
    query
        .debounce(300.milliseconds)
        .distinctUntilChanged()
        .filter { it.length >= 2 }
        .mapLatest { q -> userRepository.search(q) }
        .catch { emit(emptyList()) }

Cancelación y Limpieza

// Bien: Respetar la cancelación
suspend fun processItems(items: List<Item>) {
    items.forEach { item ->
        ensureActive() // Verificar cancelación antes del trabajo costoso
        processItem(item)
    }
}

// Bien: Limpieza con try/finally
suspend fun acquireAndProcess() {
    val resource = acquireResource()
    try {
        resource.process()
    } finally {
        withContext(NonCancellable) {
            resource.release() // Siempre liberar, incluso al cancelar
        }
    }
}

Delegación

Delegación de Propiedades

// Inicialización diferida
val expensiveData: List<User> by lazy {
    userRepository.findAll()
}

// Propiedad observable
var name: String by Delegates.observable("initial") { _, old, new ->
    logger.info("Name changed from '$old' to '$new'")
}

// Propiedades respaldadas por Map
class Config(private val map: Map<String, Any?>) {
    val host: String by map
    val port: Int by map
    val debug: Boolean by map
}

val config = Config(mapOf("host" to "localhost", "port" to 8080, "debug" to true))

Delegación de Interfaces

// Bien: Delegar implementación de interfaz
class LoggingUserRepository(
    private val delegate: UserRepository,
    private val logger: Logger,
) : UserRepository by delegate {
    // Solo sobreescribir lo que necesitas agregar logging
    override suspend fun findById(id: String): User? {
        logger.info("Finding user by id: $id")
        return delegate.findById(id).also {
            logger.info("Found user: ${it?.name ?: "null"}")
        }
    }
}

Builders de DSL

Builders Type-Safe

// Bien: DSL con @DslMarker
@DslMarker
annotation class HtmlDsl

@HtmlDsl
class HTML {
    private val children = mutableListOf<Element>()

    fun head(init: Head.() -> Unit) {
        children += Head().apply(init)
    }

    fun body(init: Body.() -> Unit) {
        children += Body().apply(init)
    }

    override fun toString(): String = children.joinToString("\n")
}

fun html(init: HTML.() -> Unit): HTML = HTML().apply(init)

// Uso
val page = html {
    head { title("My Page") }
    body {
        h1("Welcome")
        p("Hello, World!")
    }
}

DSL de Configuración

data class ServerConfig(
    val host: String = "0.0.0.0",
    val port: Int = 8080,
    val ssl: SslConfig? = null,
    val database: DatabaseConfig? = null,
)

data class SslConfig(val certPath: String, val keyPath: String)
data class DatabaseConfig(val url: String, val maxPoolSize: Int = 10)

class ServerConfigBuilder {
    var host: String = "0.0.0.0"
    var port: Int = 8080
    private var ssl: SslConfig? = null
    private var database: DatabaseConfig? = null

    fun ssl(certPath: String, keyPath: String) {
        ssl = SslConfig(certPath, keyPath)
    }

    fun database(url: String, maxPoolSize: Int = 10) {
        database = DatabaseConfig(url, maxPoolSize)
    }

    fun build(): ServerConfig = ServerConfig(host, port, ssl, database)
}

fun serverConfig(init: ServerConfigBuilder.() -> Unit): ServerConfig =
    ServerConfigBuilder().apply(init).build()

// Uso
val config = serverConfig {
    host = "0.0.0.0"
    port = 443
    ssl("/certs/cert.pem", "/certs/key.pem")
    database("jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb", maxPoolSize = 20)
}

Secuencias para Evaluación Diferida

// Bien: Usar secuencias para colecciones grandes con múltiples operaciones
val result = users.asSequence()
    .filter { it.isActive }
    .map { it.email }
    .filter { it.endsWith("@company.com") }
    .take(10)
    .toList()

// Bien: Generar secuencias infinitas
val fibonacci: Sequence<Long> = sequence {
    var a = 0L
    var b = 1L
    while (true) {
        yield(a)
        val next = a + b
        a = b
        b = next
    }
}

val first20 = fibonacci.take(20).toList()

Gradle Kotlin DSL

Configuración de build.gradle.kts

// Verificar las últimas versiones: https://kotlinlang.org/docs/releases.html
plugins {
    kotlin("jvm") version "2.3.10"
    kotlin("plugin.serialization") version "2.3.10"
    id("io.ktor.plugin") version "3.4.0"
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlinx.kover") version "0.9.7"
    id("io.gitlab.arturbosch.detekt") version "1.23.8"
}

group = "com.example"
version = "1.0.0"

kotlin {
    jvmToolchain(21)
}

dependencies {
    // Ktor
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-server-core:3.4.0")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-server-netty:3.4.0")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-server-content-negotiation:3.4.0")
    implementation("io.ktor:ktor-serialization-kotlinx-json:3.4.0")

    // Exposed
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-core:1.0.0")
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-dao:1.0.0")
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-jdbc:1.0.0")
    implementation("org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-kotlin-datetime:1.0.0")

    // Koin
    implementation("io.insert-koin:koin-ktor:4.2.0")

    // Coroutines
    implementation("org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-core:1.10.2")

    // Pruebas
    testImplementation("io.kotest:kotest-runner-junit5:6.1.4")
    testImplementation("io.kotest:kotest-assertions-core:6.1.4")
    testImplementation("io.kotest:kotest-property:6.1.4")
    testImplementation("io.mockk:mockk:1.14.9")
    testImplementation("io.ktor:ktor-server-test-host:3.4.0")
    testImplementation("org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-test:1.10.2")
}

tasks.withType<Test> {
    useJUnitPlatform()
}

detekt {
    config.setFrom(files("config/detekt/detekt.yml"))
    buildUponDefaultConfig = true
}

Patrones de Manejo de Errores

Tipo Result para Operaciones de Dominio

// Bien: Usar Result de Kotlin o una sealed class personalizada
suspend fun createUser(request: CreateUserRequest): Result<User> = runCatching {
    require(request.name.isNotBlank()) { "Name cannot be blank" }
    require('@' in request.email) { "Invalid email format" }

    val user = User(
        id = UserId(UUID.randomUUID().toString()),
        name = request.name,
        email = Email(request.email),
    )
    userRepository.save(user)
    user
}

// Bien: Encadenar resultados
val displayName = createUser(request)
    .map { it.name }
    .getOrElse { "Unknown" }

require, check, error

// Bien: Precondiciones con mensajes claros
fun withdraw(account: Account, amount: Money): Account {
    require(amount.value > 0) { "Amount must be positive: $amount" }
    check(account.balance >= amount) { "Insufficient balance: ${account.balance} < $amount" }

    return account.copy(balance = account.balance - amount)
}

Operaciones de Colecciones

Procesamiento Idiomático de Colecciones

// Bien: Operaciones encadenadas
val activeAdminEmails: List<String> = users
    .filter { it.role == Role.ADMIN && it.isActive }
    .sortedBy { it.name }
    .map { it.email }

// Bien: Agrupación y agregación
val usersByRole: Map<Role, List<User>> = users.groupBy { it.role }

val oldestByRole: Map<Role, User?> = users.groupBy { it.role }
    .mapValues { (_, users) -> users.minByOrNull { it.createdAt } }

// Bien: Associate para creación de maps
val usersById: Map<UserId, User> = users.associateBy { it.id }

// Bien: Partition para dividir
val (active, inactive) = users.partition { it.isActive }

Referencia Rápida: Modismos de Kotlin

ModismoDescripción
val sobre varPreferir variables inmutables
data classPara objetos de valor con equals/hashCode/copy
sealed class/interfacePara jerarquías de tipos restringidas
value classPara wrappers type-safe con cero overhead
when expresiónPattern matching exhaustivo
Llamada segura ?.Acceso a miembros null-safe
Elvis ?:Valor por defecto para nullables
let/apply/also/run/withFunciones de scope para código limpio
Funciones de extensiónAgregar comportamiento sin herencia
copy()Actualizaciones inmutables en data classes
require/checkAserciones de precondiciones
Coroutine async/awaitEjecución concurrente estructurada
FlowStreams reactivos fríos
sequenceEvaluación diferida
Delegación byReutilizar implementación sin herencia

Anti-Patrones a Evitar

// Mal: Desempaquetar forzadamente tipos nullable
val name = user!!.name

// Mal: Fuga de tipos de plataforma desde Java
fun getLength(s: String) = s.length // Seguro
fun getLength(s: String?) = s?.length ?: 0 // Manejar nulls de Java

// Mal: Data classes mutables
data class MutableUser(var name: String, var email: String)

// Mal: Usar excepciones para control de flujo
try {
    val user = findUser(id)
} catch (e: NotFoundException) {
    // No usar excepciones para casos esperados
}

// Bien: Usar retorno nullable o Result
val user: User? = findUserOrNull(id)

// Mal: Ignorar el scope de coroutine
GlobalScope.launch { /* Evitar GlobalScope */ }

// Bien: Usar concurrencia estructurada
coroutineScope {
    launch { /* Correctamente delimitado */ }
}

// Mal: Funciones de scope profundamente anidadas
user?.let { u ->
    u.address?.let { a ->
        a.city?.let { c -> process(c) }
    }
}

// Bien: Cadena null-safe directa
user?.address?.city?.let { process(it) }

Recuerda: El código Kotlin debe ser conciso pero legible. Aprovecha el sistema de tipos para seguridad, prefiere la inmutabilidad y usa coroutines para concurrencia. Ante la duda, deja que el compilador te ayude.

Frequently asked questions about Kotlin Development Patterns

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