difference between

[Ravi Shankar43]

What’s the difference between the System.Array.CopyTo() and System.Array.Clone()?

[rah_sin]

i think System.Array.CopyTo() is used to add array elements to another existing array object from the index which we specify onwards where as System.Array.Clone() is used to create similar array object with same elements

rahul

[Bhupi Bhai]

The Clone() method returns a new array (a shallow copy) object containing all the elements in the original array. The CopyTo() method copies the elements into another existing array. Both perform a shallow copy. A shallow copy means the contents (each array element) contains references to the same object as the elements in the original array. A deep copy (which neither of these methods performs) would create a new instance of each element's object, resulting in a different, yet identacle object. Regards, Bhupi Bhai.

[IamMohan]

The first one (System.Array.CopyTo()) performs a deep copy of the array, the second one(System.Array.Clone()) is shallow copy of the array:) Mohan

[Bhupi Bhai]

Mohan, Neither of the two perform deep copy. Both CopyTo and Clone perform Shallow copy. Regards, Bhupi Bhai.

[jdkulkarni]

Visit http://www.thescripts.com/forum/thread269691.html[^] One para from the same. A copyto makes a copy of the values in/from a one dimensional array (where the type of the sender and the receiver has to be the same and the receiver completly exist already). A clone copies the references, therefore using the references in the clone will have the same effect on the referenced objects as using the original array. Although you can have at a certain moment in a clone more references than in the original or/and visa versa. A deepcopy you have to make yourself. The system does not know what objects you have added to by instance your arraylist. (It can be by instance a thousand times deep arraylist).

Jayant D. Kulkarni Brainbench Certified Software Engineer in C#, ASP.NET, .NET Framework and ADO.NET