12/12/23, 12:37 PM Learn Kotlin: Functions Cheatsheet | Codecademy

Cheatsheets / Learn Kotlin

Functions

Functions

A function is a named, reusable block of code that can be fun greet() {

called and executed throughout a program.
println("Hey there!")
A function is declared with the fun keyword, a function
name, parentheses containing (optional) arguments, as }
well as an (optional) return type.
To call/invoke a function, write the name of the function
fun main() {
followed by parentheses.
// Function call
greet() // Prints: Hey there!
}

Function Arguments

In Kotlin, an argument is a piece of data we can pass into fun birthday(name: String, age: Int) {
a function when invoking it.
println("Happy birthday $name! You turn
To pass data into a function, the function’s header must
include parameters that describe the name and data type $age today!")
of the incoming data. If a function is declared with }
parameters, then data must be passed when the function
is invoked. We can include as many parameters as
needed. fun main() {
birthday("Oscar", 26) // Prints: Happy
birthday Oscar! You turn 25 today!
birthday("Amarah", 30) // Prints: Happy
birthday Amarah! You turn 30 today!
}

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Default Arguements

We can give arguments a default value which provides an fun favoriteLanguage(name, language =
argument an automatic value if no value is passed into the
"Kotlin") {
function when it’s invoked.
println("Hello, $name. Your favorite
programming language is $language")
}

fun main() {
favoriteLanguage("Manon") // Prints:
Hello, Manon. Your favorite programming
language is Kotlin

favoriteLanguage("Lee", "Java") //
Prints: Hello, Lee. Your favorite
programming language is Java
}

Named Arguments

We can name our arguments when invoking a function to fun findMyAge(currentYear: Int, birthYear:
provide additional readability.
Int) {
To name an argument, write the argument name followed
by the assignment operator ( = ) and the argument value. var myAge = currentYear - birthYear
The argument’s name must have the same name as the println("I am $myAge years old.")
parameter in the function being called.
}
By naming our arguments, we can place arguments in any
order when the function is being invoked.
fun main() {
findMyAge(currentYear = 2020, birthYear
= 1995)
// Prints: I am 25 years old.
findMyAge(birthYear = 1920, currentYear
= 2020)
// Prints: I am 100 years old.
}

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Return Statement

In Kotlin, in order to return a value from a function, we // Return type is declared outside the
must add a return statement to our function using the
parentheses
return keyword. This value is then passed to where the
function was invoked. fun getArea(length: Int, width: Int): Int
If we plan to return a value from a function, we must {
declare the return type in the function header.
var area = length * width

// return statement
return area
}

fun main() {
var myArea = getArea(10, 8)
println("The area is $myArea.") //
Prints: The area is 80.
}

Single Expression Functions

If a function contains only a single expression, we can use fun fullName(firstName: String, lastName:
a shorthand syntax to create our function.
String) = "$firstName $lastName"
Instead of placing curly brackets after the function
header to contain the function’s code block, we can use
an assignment operator = followed by the expression fun main() {
being returned.
println(fullName("Ariana", "Ortega")) //
Prints: Ariana Ortega
println(fullName("Kai", "Gittens")) //
Prints: Kai Gittens
}

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Function Literals

Function literals are unnamed functions that can be

treated as expressions: we can assign them to variables,
fun main() {
call them, pass them as arguments, and return them from
a function as we could with any other value. // Anonymous Function:
Two types of function literals are anonymous functions var getProduct = fun(num1: Int, num2:
and lambda expressions.
Int): Int {
return num1 * num2
}
println(getProduct(8, 3)) // Prints: 24

// Lambda Expression
var getDifference = { num1: Int, num2:
Int -> num1 - num2 }
println(getDifference(10, 3)) // Prints:
7
}

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