Is there a simple way to scaffold a new (library) ...

# getting-started

[Dennis Tel]

Is there a simple way to scaffold a new (library) project for kotlin? Just getting started with kotlin and tried the options in intellij but it creates a project without a test runner which makes it somewhat difficult to run/interact with the code (scratch pads and worksheets seem to be broken and don’t output anything).

Any recommendations?

[Christophe Smet]

Create a runner with

fun main(args: Array) {
}

That should work without jvmstatic, or just run it from a unit test.

[Dennis Tel]

Yeah this seems to be simplest. But is this really how most people develop java/kotlin code 😄?

[Christophe Smet]

Most of the time people build a “showcase” or sample app if they build a library. If it doesn’t have a UI, you can just make it with unit tests I guess

[tddmonkey]

If I’m understanding you correctly - you would start with a gradle or maven build file and import that into intellij

[Dennis Tel]

I’m pretty new to Kotlin/Java development in general (on the backend) so I wouldn’t know. I have a background in Ruby/Elixir which both have a REPL so trying to figure out how things are done in Kotlin 🙂 Thanks for the responses!

[karelpeeters]

I start with a gradle project and import that into idea as well, so you've got your build tools set up from the start. Here's a guide on how to get started: https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/using-gradle.html.

[eekboom]

I ususally just let gradle do that:
gradle init --type=kotlin-library

[Dennis Tel]

@eekboom Is there by any chance also a parameter that adds a test setup as well?

[eekboom]

An example test is automatically generated.

[Matteo Mirk]

@Dennis Tel Kotlin has a REPL as well if you want to experiment, just execute kotlinc from the shell without arguments, or in IntelliJ under the menu Tools > Kotlin > Kotlin REPL