Kotlin 1.8.0 adds recursive copy, delete for directories

Published on Jan 17, 2023

Kotlin’s latest update adds support for Java 19 and introduces experimental functions that enable recursive copying and deleting of directory contents.

The JetBrains-developed, statically typed Kotlin 1.8.0 is now available as a production release for multiplatform mobile, web, and native development. On the JVM, the new version provides experimental functions for recursively copying and deleting directory contents.

Kotlin 1.8.0 introduces new experimental functions for java.nio.file.path that enable recursive copying and deleting of directory content. A new experimental feature has also been added to TimeMarks that allows elapseNow to read from multiple TimeMarks simultaneously. Both sets of new functionality require opt-in. Moreover, Kotlin 1.8.0 stabilizes extension functions for working with Java Optional classes.

As a production release announced on January 11, Kotlin 1.8.0 also adds support for Gradle 7.3, but removes support for the old JVM back end, with the -Xuse-old-backend compiler option no longer available. You can find instructions on how to update to Kotlin 1.8.0 at kotlinlang.org.

The Kotlin 1.8.0 beta also includes the following new features and improvements:

Kotlin/JVM supports Java 19 bytecode.

In Kotlin/JS, the IR (intermediate representation) compiler has been stabilized and set incremental compilation as the default. Kotlin/JS has been deprecated.

Kotlin Multiplatform now supports an Android source set layout, which can be enabled in the Gradle plugin with kotlin.mpp.androidSourceSetLayoutVersion=2. KotlinSourceSet entities have also been given a new naming schema.

Kotlin Native now supports the Xcode 14 IDE for Apple development, as well as the watchosDeviceArm64 target. Interoperability between Objective-C and Swift has been improved with the addition of new annotations.

Kotlin 1.7.20, the latest incremental release, was released in October.