Java Language Object Cloning Cloning performing a deep copy
Example
To copy nested objects, a deep copy must be performed, as shown in this example.
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class Sheep implements Cloneable {
private String name;
private int weight;
private List<Sheep> children;
public Sheep(String name, int weight) {
this.name = name;
this.weight = weight;
}
@Override
public Object clone() throws CloneNotSupportedException {
Sheep clone = (Sheep) super.clone();
if (children != null) {
// make a deep copy of the children
List<Sheep> cloneChildren = new ArrayList<>(children.size());
for (Sheep child : children) {
cloneChildren.add((Sheep) child.clone());
}
clone.setChildren(cloneChildren);
}
return clone;
}
public List<Sheep> getChildren() {
return children;
}
public void setChildren(List<Sheep> children) {
this.children = children;
}
}
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;
// create a sheep
Sheep sheep = new Sheep("Dolly", 20);
// create children
Sheep child1 = new Sheep("Child1", 4);
Sheep child2 = new Sheep("Child2", 5);
sheep.setChildren(Arrays.asList(child1, child2));
// clone the sheep
Sheep dolly = (Sheep) sheep.clone();
List<Sheep> sheepChildren = sheep.getChildren();
List<Sheep> dollysChildren = dolly.getChildren();
for (int i = 0; i < sheepChildren.size(); i++) {
// prints false, both arrays contain copies of the objects inside
System.out.println(sheepChildren.get(i) == dollysChildren.get(i));
}
