|
What is this field-by-field copy done by Object.clone()?
Java Interview Questions for Cloning and Cloneable
(Continued from previous question...)
What is this field-by-field copy done by Object.clone()?
a field by field copy does mean that when it creates the new (cloned) object, the JVM will copy the value of every field from the original object into the cloned object. Unfortunately this does mean that you have a shallow copy. If you desire a deep copy, you can override the clone method.
class Line implements Cloneable {
private Point start;
private Point end;
public Line() {
//Careful: This will not happen for the cloned object
SomeGlobalRegistry.register(this);
}
@Override
public Line clone() {
//calling super.clone is going to create a shallow copy.
//If we want a deep copy, we must clone or instantiate
//the fields ourselves
Line line = (Line)super.clone();
//assuming Point is cloneable. Otherwise we will
//have to instantiate and populate it's fields manually
line.start = this.start.clone();
line.end = this.end.clone;
return line;
}
}
Also one more important thing about the cloning is, the constructor of the cloned object is never invoked (only the fields are copied). So if the constructor initializes an external object, or registers this object with some registry, then that will not happen for the cloned object.
(Continued on next question...)
Other Interview Questions
| 