What is the default target for an annotation when annotating property in Kotlin?

Question

Annotations in Kotlin can have different use-site targets as explained here: https://kotlinlang.org/docs/reference/annotations.html#annotation-use-site-targets

My qu

Answer 1

The reference says:

If you don’t specify a use-site target, the target is chosen according to the @Target annotation of the annotation being used. If there are multiple applicable targets, the first applicable target from the following list is used:

• param (constructor parameter)
• property (annotations with this target are not visible to Java)
• field

So if your annotation has @Target({ElementType.FIELD}), the annotation in Kotlin will target @field:.

If it has no @Target specified, it may be used on any program element: the @property: target is also applicable and is chosen by default.