CO2402: Advanced Programming
with C++ Lecture 16
Copy Constructor Basics
1. Definition and Purpose
o A copy constructor is a special constructor used to create a
copy of an object. It is automatically invoked when a copy of
an object is made, such as when passing an object by value or
returning an object from a function.
Example:
2. Automatic Creation and Use Cases
o C++ automatically creates a copy constructor for all objects if
none is provided. It is used in scenarios like:
o Call by value
o Returning an object from a function
o Copy initialization
Example:
, Shallow Copy vs. Deep Copy
1. Shallow Copy
o A shallow copy duplicates the object's immediate members,
but if the object contains pointers, the addresses are copied,
not the pointed-to data. This can lead to issues such as double
deletion.
Example:
2. Deep Copy
o A deep copy duplicates the object's members and also the
data pointed to by the pointers. It ensures that each object
has its own copy of dynamically allocated memory.
Example:
with C++ Lecture 16
Copy Constructor Basics
1. Definition and Purpose
o A copy constructor is a special constructor used to create a
copy of an object. It is automatically invoked when a copy of
an object is made, such as when passing an object by value or
returning an object from a function.
Example:
2. Automatic Creation and Use Cases
o C++ automatically creates a copy constructor for all objects if
none is provided. It is used in scenarios like:
o Call by value
o Returning an object from a function
o Copy initialization
Example:
, Shallow Copy vs. Deep Copy
1. Shallow Copy
o A shallow copy duplicates the object's immediate members,
but if the object contains pointers, the addresses are copied,
not the pointed-to data. This can lead to issues such as double
deletion.
Example:
2. Deep Copy
o A deep copy duplicates the object's members and also the
data pointed to by the pointers. It ensures that each object
has its own copy of dynamically allocated memory.
Example:
