ArticleZip > Copying Of An Array Of Objects To Another Array Without Object Reference In Javascriptdeep Copy

Copying Of An Array Of Objects To Another Array Without Object Reference In Javascriptdeep Copy

When working with arrays of objects in JavaScript, sometimes you might need to make a copy of an array without referencing the original objects. This process, known as deep copying, ensures that any changes made to the copied array or its objects do not affect the original array.

To achieve a deep copy of an array of objects in JavaScript, you can follow a few simple steps. Let's dive into how you can accomplish this:

One common method to achieve a deep copy of an array of objects in JavaScript is to use a combination of the

Map

()

function and the

Object

.assign()

method. By using these two functions together, you can create a new array containing copies of the objects within the original array, rather than references to the original objects.

Here's an example code snippet demonstrating how to perform a deep copy of an array of objects in JavaScript:

Javascript

const originalArray = [{ name: 'Alice', age: 30 }, { name: 'Bob', age: 25 }, { name: 'Charlie', age: 35 }];

// Deep copy of the original array
const copiedArray = originalArray.map(obj => Object.assign({}, obj));

console.log(copiedArray);

In this code snippet, we first define an

OriginalArray

containing a few objects. Next, we create a

CopiedArray

by using the

Map

()

function to iterate over each object in the original array and the

Object

.assign()

method to create a new object for each item in the new array.

By using this approach, we ensure that the objects within the copied array are new instances and not references to the original objects. This way, any modifications made to the objects within the copied array will not affect the original objects in the original array.

Another method to achieve a deep copy of an array of objects in JavaScript is to use the

JSON

.parse()

and

JSON

.stringify()

functions. While this method is less performant than the previous approach, it offers a simple way to create a deep copy of an array of objects.

Here's another example demonstrating how to perform a deep copy of an array of objects using

JSON

.parse()

and

JSON

.stringify()

:

Javascript

const copiedArray = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(originalArray));

In this example, we utilize the built-in JSON functions to serialize the original array into a JSON string and then parse that string back into a new array. This method effectively creates copies of the objects within the new array.

In conclusion, when you need to make a deep copy of an array of objects in JavaScript, you have multiple options available to achieve this. Whether you choose to use the

Map

()

function in combination with

Object

.assign()

or rely on

JSON

.parse()

and

JSON

.stringify()

, both methods offer reliable ways to create independent copies of objects within arrays, ensuring that any changes made to the copied array do not impact the original array. By following these simple techniques, you can confidently work with array of objects in JavaScript without worrying about unintentional object references.