Define Copy Constructor in Java.
Define Copy Constructor in Java.
423
27-Aug-2023
Updated on 28-Aug-2023
Aryan Kumar
28-Aug-2023Sure. A copy constructor in Java is a special type of constructor that is used to create a new object that is an exact copy of an existing object of the same class. The copy constructor is called automatically when an object is created from another object of the same class.
The syntax for a copy constructor in Java is:
The
otherparameter in the constructor is a reference to the existing object that is being copied. The copy constructor must copy the values of all of the instance variables from theotherobject to the new object.The copy constructor is useful when you need to create a new object that is an exact copy of an existing object. For example, you might use a copy constructor to create a new object to return from a method, or to create a new object to pass as an argument to another method.
Here is an example of a copy constructor:
This code defines a class called
Pointthat has two instance variables,xandy. The first constructor forPointtakes two integer arguments and initializes thexandyvariables with those values. The second constructor is a copy constructor. It takes a reference to an existingPointobject as an argument and initializes thexandyvariables with the values of the corresponding variables in theotherobject.The copy constructor is a powerful tool that can be used to create new objects that are exact copies of existing objects. It is a good practice to define a copy constructor for any class that has mutable instance variables.