Deep Copy

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A deep copy is the process of creating a new copy of an object where all nested objects and arrays are recursively copied, resulting in a completely independent clone of the original object.

A deep copy means that any changes made to the new object will not affect the original object, and vice versa. This is in contrast to a shallow copy, which only copies the top-level properties, leading to shared references for nested objects or arrays.

JavaScript Example:

In JavaScript, creating a deep copy can be done using various methods, such as using libraries like Lodash or by utilizing JSON methods (though with limitations).

  1. Using JSON methods (limitations include inability to copy functions, undefined, and special objects like Date):
const originalObject = {
  name: "Alice",
  age: 30,
  address: {
    city: "Wonderland",
    zip: "12345"
  }
};

const deepCopiedObject = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(originalObject));

// Modifying the deep copy
deepCopiedObject.address.city = "New Wonderland";

console.log(originalObject.address.city); // Outputs: Wonderland
console.log(deepCopiedObject.address.city); // Outputs: New Wonderland