Build error when trying to Run basic activity - android-studio

Question

I'm on day 1 of learning Android Studio / Kotlin and working my way through the (official?) tutorials.
Having added some basic views to an empty layout and resolved a couple of "coding practice" warnings, when I try to run the app on a USB connected tablet, I get a build failed message.
(I haven't got as far as any Kotlin coding yet.)
I'm completely out of my depth at this stage and can't find a solution that isn't beyond my level of understanding.
The errors are ...
Caused by: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: kotlin/reflect/full/KClasses
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: kotlin.reflect.full.KClasses
If there's any other information worth sharing, I'm afraid I don't know what it is at the moment.
ANy suggestions on what I need to do to or investigate to resolve the build fail?
First build.gradle file:
// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.
buildscript {
ext.kotlin_version = "1.5.10"
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
}
dependencies {
classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.2.2"
classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlin_version"
// NOTE: Do not place your application dependencies here; they belong
// in the individual module build.gradle files
}
}
allprojects {
repositories {
google()
mavenCentral()
jcenter() // Warning: this repository is going to shut down soon
}
}
task clean(type: Delete) {
delete rootProject.buildDir
}
Second build.gradle file:
plugins {
id 'com.android.application'
id 'kotlin-android'
}
android {
compileSdkVersion 30
buildToolsVersion "30.0.3"
defaultConfig {
applicationId "com.example.test04"
minSdkVersion 19
targetSdkVersion 30
versionCode 1
versionName "1.0"
testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
}
buildTypes {
release {
minifyEnabled false
proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
}
}
compileOptions {
sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
}
kotlinOptions {
jvmTarget = '1.8'
}
}
dependencies {
implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib:$kotlin_version"
implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:28.0.0'
implementation 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:2.0.4'
testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.+'
androidTestImplementation 'com.android.support.test:runner:1.0.2'
androidTestImplementation 'com.android.support.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.0.2'
}

Answer 1

Try these steps.
Update your Kotlin version from "1.5.10" to the latest "1.5.31" in your first build.gradle file. Also update the Kotlin plugin: File -> Settings -> Languages and Frameworks -> Kotlin and if there's a new version there will be an Install button to click. Then restart Android Studio and run your project to see if it will work.
If that doesn't work, you can manually add the missing reflection library to your project. I don't see in your dependencies anything that uses reflection, but maybe I'm missing something. So, add this line into the dependencies section of your second build.gradle file:
implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-reflect"
Then click the "Sync Project with Gradle Files" button near the right end of the toolbar (elephant with blue arrow icon), and try running your project again.
The Android Build Tools you're using is also out of date. I'm not sure it could be related, but you can update that as well in the first build.gradle file. Change the 4.2.2 to 7.0.3 and click the Gradle sync button again. Android Studio might complain that you need to update your Gradle version, so click yes if it offers to update it for you.