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Deep copy of objects in C#

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18 Jul 2009CPOL 153.3K   1.2K   34   24
How to do a deep copy of objects using System.Reflection.

Introduction

Below you can find a short article on how to do a deep copy of objects using Reflection in C#. Please be aware that this is my first article here (even first article in the English language...)

Background

The class (called HCloner) has a DeepCopy function. It drills down the entire object fields structure (using System.Reflection) and copies it into a new location that is returned after that.

Members that are copied are fields - no need to copy properties since behind every property, there is a field. A property itself cannot hold any value.

Using the code

Let's look at the "core" code:

C#
using System;
using System.Reflection;

namespace HAKGERSoft {

    public class HCloner {

        public static T DeepCopy<T>(T obj) {
            if(obj==null)
                throw new ArgumentNullException("Object cannot be null");
            return (T)Process(obj);
        }

        static object Process(object obj) {
            if(obj==null)
                return null;
            Type type=obj.GetType();
            if(type.IsValueType || type==typeof(string)) {
                return obj;
            }
            else if(type.IsArray) {
                Type elementType=Type.GetType(
                     type.FullName.Replace("[]",string.Empty));
                var array=obj as Array;
                Array copied=Array.CreateInstance(elementType,array.Length);
                for(int i=0; i<array.Length; i++) {
                    copied.SetValue(Process(array.GetValue(i)),i);
                }
                return Convert.ChangeType(copied,obj.GetType());
            }
            else if(type.IsClass) {
                object toret=Activator.CreateInstance(obj.GetType());
                FieldInfo[] fields=type.GetFields(BindingFlags.Public| 
                            BindingFlags.NonPublic|BindingFlags.Instance);
                foreach(FieldInfo field in fields) {
                    object fieldValue=field.GetValue(obj);
                    if(fieldValue==null)
                        continue;
                    field.SetValue(toret,Process(fieldValue));
                }
                return toret;
            }
            else
                throw new ArgumentException("Unknown type");
        }

    }
}

Using it is very simple - just call the DeepCopy function.

History

This is a very alpha-pre version of my function. I'm looking forward for some feedback from you - any issues found will be analysed and fixed (at least, I'll try).

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior)
Poland Poland
This member has not yet provided a Biography. Assume it's interesting and varied, and probably something to do with programming.

Comments and Discussions

 
BugShould also deep copy valuetypes Pin
jpmik23-Sep-22 2:22
jpmik23-Sep-22 2:22 
QuestionYou have rocked in the first article itself. Thank you for your great contribution. Pin
Ashok Login4-Mar-20 19:55
Ashok Login4-Mar-20 19:55 
SuggestionThis change will make parameterless contructors work Pin
Sakkers23-Apr-19 0:27
Sakkers23-Apr-19 0:27 
Questionobject[,] Array.Copy Pin
nhatnguyen12345678921-May-16 6:15
nhatnguyen12345678921-May-16 6:15 
AnswerRe: object[,] Array.Copy Pin
Member 132772109-Jul-17 2:43
Member 132772109-Jul-17 2:43 
QuestionLooks awesome, bug Throws Exception on System Object Pin
Member 122935161-Feb-16 21:40
Member 122935161-Feb-16 21:40 
SuggestionClasses from different assemblies Pin
Defor64-Sep-13 0:26
Defor64-Sep-13 0:26 
GeneralMy vote of 1 Pin
Aydin Homay15-May-13 1:21
Aydin Homay15-May-13 1:21 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
onefootswill28-Jun-14 18:17
onefootswill28-Jun-14 18:17 
GeneralRe: My vote of 1 Pin
Octopod25-Jan-18 6:04
Octopod25-Jan-18 6:04 
QuestionError at "return Convert.ChangeType(copied,obj.GetType() ); " Pin
VigneshPT24-Oct-11 10:36
VigneshPT24-Oct-11 10:36 
QuestionDoesn't work with inheritance Pin
Sean Wolf16-Sep-11 11:46
Sean Wolf16-Sep-11 11:46 
GeneralNow it works with structures! [modified] Pin
Brian Coverstone27-Apr-11 15:59
Brian Coverstone27-Apr-11 15:59 
GeneralExcellent! Pin
flippydeflippydebop1-Aug-09 23:35
flippydeflippydebop1-Aug-09 23:35 
GeneralCircular references. Pin
Andre Luiz Alves Moraes20-Jul-09 3:05
Andre Luiz Alves Moraes20-Jul-09 3:05 
Hi,

I Already done some code like yours and one of the important things to handle is Circular References.

For example if you have a tree class like this:

public class Tree
{
  public TreeNode _root;
}

public class TreeNode
{
  public TreeNode _parent;
  public TreeNode _lChild;
  public TreeNode _rChild;


  public TreeNode(TreeNode parent)
  {
    _parent = parent;
  }
}


When you call the method to a object of Tree your code will start do copy the nodes of the tree.

The big problem is that de root node of a tree is the parent of some child, so, when you start to copy the child of the root, your code will look into _parent field and will try to copy the root node again. And this cycle will continue until a stack overflow.

To solve that problem i used a collection of cloned objects. It was something like this;

public class CloneList
{
  private IList _originals;
  private IList _clones;

  public CloneList()
  {
    _originals = new ArrayList();
    _clones = new ArrayList();
  }
  
  public object getCloneForOriginal(object original)
  {
    if (_originals.Contains(original))
    {
        return _clones[_originals.IndexOf(original)];
    }
    else
    {
      return null;
    }
  }
}

Thumbs Up | :thumbsup:
GeneralRe: Circular references. Pin
Hakger22-Jul-09 6:36
Hakger22-Jul-09 6:36 
GeneralRe: Circular references. Pin
Rafi Ben Avi12-Feb-18 20:13
Rafi Ben Avi12-Feb-18 20:13 
GeneralRe: Circular references -> I Found a bug, please add this code Pin
Rafi Ben Avi19-Feb-18 23:22
Rafi Ben Avi19-Feb-18 23:22 
GeneralHi, think of this..... Pin
Binkle@JAM20-Jul-09 1:20
Binkle@JAM20-Jul-09 1:20 
GeneralRe: Hi, think of this..... Pin
Hakger22-Jul-09 6:37
Hakger22-Jul-09 6:37 
GeneralRe: Hi, think of this..... Pin
akshayswaroop18-Nov-09 2:12
akshayswaroop18-Nov-09 2:12 
General[My vote of 2] more clarification Pin
Md. Marufuzzaman18-Jul-09 22:44
professionalMd. Marufuzzaman18-Jul-09 22:44 
GeneralLooks good Pin
The_Mega_ZZTer18-Jul-09 16:27
The_Mega_ZZTer18-Jul-09 16:27 
Generalgj Pin
QuaQua18-Jul-09 15:50
QuaQua18-Jul-09 15:50 

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