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KSP vs KAPT — What is the difference between KSP and KAPT with their use-case.
Modern Kotlin development often involves generating boilerplate code, especially when working with libraries like Room, Dagger, or Moshi. Two primary tools for code generation in Kotlin are KSP (Kotlin Symbol Processing) and KAPT (Kotlin Annotation Processing Tool). While both serve similar purposes, they operate differently and have distinct use cases. This article explores their differences, use cases, and the internal workings of code generation with real-life examples.
A book can be written on this topic only, however in this article we will focus on their definition and differences rather than going into compilation and generation level base(may be some other day).
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Real-Life Analogy: Blueprint vs. Translator
- KAPT (Translator Approach): Imagine translating a complex blueprint from one language to another before processing it. The translation step (Java stubs) slows down the process and can lose details.
- KSP (Direct Approach): Now imagine giving the blueprint directly to a native speaker. They can work faster and with greater accuracy (Kotlin-first processing).
