Print and println output in Kotlin - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Print and println output

Start Program

↓

Call print()

↓

Output text without newline

↓

Call println()

↓

Output text with newline

↓

End Program

The program starts, prints text without moving to a new line, then prints text with a newline, and ends.

Execution Sample

Kotlin

fun main() {
    print("Hello, ")
    println("world!")
}

Prints 'Hello, ' without newline, then prints 'world!' with newline.

Execution Table

Step	Function Called	Output	Cursor Position After Output
1	print("Hello, ")	Hello,	After the comma and space, cursor stays on same line
2	println("world!")	world!	Cursor moves to start of next line

💡 Program ends after printing both outputs; cursor is at start of new line.

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	Final
Output Stream	""	"Hello, "	"Hello, world!\n"	"Hello, world!\n"

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does print() not move to a new line after output?

Because print() outputs text exactly as given without adding a newline, as shown in step 1 of the execution_table where the cursor stays on the same line.

What does println() do differently from print()?

println() outputs the text and then adds a newline character, moving the cursor to the next line, as seen in step 2 of the execution_table.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the cursor position after step 1?

A After the printed text on the same line

B At the start of the next line

C At the beginning of the output

D Cursor position is unchanged

💡 Hint

Check the 'Cursor Position After Output' column for step 1 in the execution_table.

At which step does the output move to a new line?

A Step 1

B Step 2

C Both steps

D Neither step

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Output' and 'Cursor Position' columns in the execution_table.

If we replace print() with println() in step 1, what changes in the output?

A Output stays on the same line

B No output is printed

C Output moves to a new line after step 1

D Output is printed twice

💡 Hint

Recall that println() adds a newline after printing, as shown in step 2.

Concept Snapshot

print(text): outputs text without moving to a new line
println(text): outputs text and moves cursor to next line
Use print() to continue on same line
Use println() to start new line after output

Full Transcript

This example shows how Kotlin's print() and println() functions work. First, print("Hello, ") outputs text without moving to a new line, so the cursor stays right after the comma and space. Then, println("world!") outputs text and moves the cursor to the next line by adding a newline character. This difference is important when formatting output. The execution table tracks each step's output and cursor position. The variable tracker shows how the output stream builds up. Remember, print() keeps output on the same line, println() moves to a new line after printing.