Meta-programming with Kotlin compiler plugins

on YouTube ↗38m

" summary

Shows how a real Kotlin compiler plugin is built, registered via META-INF/services, and debugged by setting Kotlin.compiler.execution.strategy = in-process so breakpoints hit; uses Kotlin 1.9 K2 front-end (FIR) and IR generation extensions, registers FIR and IR extensions, and prints a live “Hello world” to prove execution. Recommends KSP over plugins unless you must modify existing declarations or function bodies, warns the plugin API is unstable and multi‑Kotlin‑version maintenance is painful, and notes K2 will simplify distribution to a single JAR.

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" chapters (11)

1. 0:00Introduction to meta-programming
2. 1:14What is meta-programming?
3. 4:42Compile-time introspection tools
4. 8:51Kotlin compiler plugins evolution
5. 16:58Live plugin development demo
6. 25:34Building a compiler plugin
7. 30:28Hard lessons learned
8. 33:38KSP vs compiler plugins
9. 35:47Testing Kotlin compiler plugins
10. 36:49Sky: Swift-friendly Kotlin API
11. 37:31Q&A

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