Is kotlin MPP different than Kotlin Native?

Issue

I have read multiple contents online but still not able to understand that is there a clear difference between Kotlin multiplatform mobile vs Kotlin Native?

Solution

Yes.

Kotlin/Native is one type of Kotlin target platforms. For this platform, Kotlin code is compiled into an LLVM intermediate representation and eventually into native binaries. Technically speaking, there are multiple native targets because you could compile for Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS etc.

That said, there are other target platforms like JVM, JavaScript, Android, and even WebAssembly (under development).

Kotlin/MPP (multiplatform project) more generally refers to projects that compile to several different target platforms. For instance, a single project can be compiled to the JVM, JS, and one or more native targets. In a way, a Kotlin/Native project can be considered multiplatform if it compiles to different native targets, but usually "multiplatform project" implies also other targets than Native ones.

KMM (Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile) is a specific case of multiplatform project where the targets are Android and Native iOS. The iOS part of KMM projects uses Kotlin/Native, but not the Android part (unless it's using the special Android NDK target).

Answered By - Joffrey