Jun 13, 2022 · In shallow copy, only fields of primitive data type are copied while the objects references are not copied. Deep copy involves the copy of primitive data type as well as object references. There is no hard and fast rule as to when to do shallow copy and when to do a deep copy. Lazy copy is a combination of both of these approaches.

Understanding the difference between shallow copy and deep copy is crucial for writing bug-free and memory-safe Java code, especially in large applications where objects reference other objects. Use shallow copy when your class is simple and doesn’t hold complex nested objects.

Sep 23, 2024 · Shallow Copy stores the copy of the original object and points the references to the objects. Deep copy stores the copy of the original object and recursively copies the objects as well. A shallow copy is faster.

Reference copy: It creates a copy of a reference variable pointing to an object. Object copy: It creates a copy of the object itself. Shallow copy. Shallow means having little depth. Shallow copy of an object create a new object and copies all the field of object to the new object (either it is primitive or a reference).

May 12, 2018 · Shallow copying generally means copying only one level of an object, while deep copying generally means copying more than one level. The problem is in deciding what we mean by a level. Consider this: public int foo; public int[] bar; public Example() { }; public Example(int foo, int[] bar) { this.foo = foo; this.bar = bar; }; Example eg2 = ...

When we do a copy of some entity to create two or more than two entities such that changes in one entity are reflected in the other entities as well, then we can say we have done a shallow copy. In shallow copy, new memory allocation never happens for the other entities, and the only reference is copied to the other entities.

Aug 29, 2024 · In a shallow copy, a new object is created, but only the top-level objects are duplicated. The inner objects are copied as references, meaning they’ll still refer to the original object. That...

Jul 13, 2023 · Shallow copy creates a new object that shares references with the original object. On the other hand, a deep copy creates a completely independent object with its own set of values. All fields, including any objects referenced by …

Apr 20, 2025 · In Java, the clone () method (if implemented) is the primary way to perform a shallow copy. Here’s how it works: int value; int[] array; public ShallowCopyExample(int value, int[] array) {...

Feb 7, 2025 · In this article, we’ll dive into the differences, explore real-world examples, and show you how to implement both shallow and deep copies effectively. What is a Shallow Copy? A Shallow...