Core Java - What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

GeekInterview.com > Interview Questions > J2EE > Core Java

Go To First | Previous Question | Next Question

Core Java | Question 452 of 502

What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

Total Answers and Comments: 5

Last Update: February 11, 2009 Asked by: fred

Sponsored Links

Best Rated Answer

—

Submitted by: nareshv1

When we need a copy of the object we go for cloning.
When an object is shallow coned the parent object or top level object and its members are duplicated, where as the low level objects are not duplicated but their references are alone copied.

Above answer was rated as good by the following members:
Naveenjavasun, talktoatish

November 30, 2007 03:22:24

tryingtobejavageek

Member Since: November 2007 Contribution: 1

RE: What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

Shallow cloning is a way to create a replica of object where object copy is created but the objects that are contained in that object are not copied.

Is this answer useful? Yes | No

February 14, 2008 00:57:27

sampra

Member Since: February 2008 Contribution: 278

RE: What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

Shallow cloning is a way to create a replica of object where object copy is created but the objects that are contained in that object are not copied.

Is this answer useful? Yes | No

1 0

Overall Rating: +1

June 13, 2008 02:24:17

nareshv1

Member Since: June 2008 Contribution: 2

RE: What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

Is this answer useful? Yes | No

1 0

Overall Rating: +1

July 08, 2008 04:02:55

Naveenjavasun

Member Since: July 2008 Contribution: 6

RE: What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

When we need a copy of the object we go for cloning. When an object is shallow coned the parent object or top level object and its members are duplicated where as the low level objects are not duplicated but their references are alone copied.

For complete cloning go for deep cloning
Deepcloing is done in two ways 1 serilization and 2 cloning all related objects.

Is this answer useful? Yes | No

February 11, 2009 00:33:37

TypeEE

Member Since: February 2009 Contribution: 1

RE: What is Shallow cloning in Java ?

By default cloning yields a shallow copy. By shallow we mean the object is copied but the contained objects are not. What a deep copy does it copy the cloned object as well as all the objects within.

For instance if you have an array of five elements you have a total of six objects in memory the array and the five elements. If you make a shallow copy you have a total of seven objects in memory: the original array the copied array and the set of five elemenets that both arrays contain. For a deep copy there would be a total of twelve elements since the five elements inside the array will be copied too. Of course if each of those elements contained even more objects then the resulting set of objects would grow even larger.

Is this answer useful? Yes | No

Go To Top

User Name		Remember Me?
Password

Question Bank