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In the C++ programming language, a copy constructor is a special constructor for creating a new object as a copy of an existing object. Copy constructors are the standard way of copying objects in C++, as opposed to cloning , and have C++-specific nuances.
But, unlike C++, Java doesn't create a default copy constructor if you don't write your own. Copy constructors define the actions performed by the compiler when copying class objects. A Copy constructor has one formal parameter that is the type of the class (the parameter may be a reference to an object).
copy assignment operator; move constructor; move assignment operator; Situations exist where classes may need destructors, but cannot sensibly implement copy and move constructors and copy and move assignment operators. This happens, for example, when the base class does not support these latter Big Four members, but the derived class's ...
The resulting object is called an object copy or simply copy of the original object. Copying is basic but has subtleties and can have significant overhead. There are several ways to copy an object, most commonly by a copy constructor or cloning. Copying is done mostly so the copy can be modified or moved, or the current value preserved.
Default constructor if no other constructor is explicitly declared. Copy constructor if no move constructor and move assignment operator are explicitly declared. If a destructor is declared generation of a copy constructor is deprecated (C++11, proposal N3242 [2]).
Virtual inheritance is a C++ technique that ensures only one copy of a base class ' s member variables are inherited by grandchild derived classes. Without virtual inheritance, if two classes B and C inherit from a class A, and a class D inherits from both B and C, then D will contain two copies of A ' s member variables: one via B, and one via C.
[1] [2] The following example demonstrates a scenario where the implementation may eliminate one or both of the copies being made, even if the copy constructor has a visible side effect (printing text). [1] [2] The first copy that may be eliminated is the one where a nameless temporary C could be copied into the function f's return value.
Additionally, due to the lack of garbage collection in C++, programs will frequently copy an object whenever the ownership and lifetime of a single shared object would be unclear. For example, inserting an object into a standard library collection (such as a std::vector ) typically involves making and inserting a copy into the collection.