clone

What is clone?

The clone npm package is a utility for cloning JavaScript objects. It can create deep copies of objects, arrays, dates, and other types, ensuring that changes to the cloned object do not affect the original. It is useful when you need to work with copies of data without altering the original source.

What are clone's main functionalities?

Cloning objects

This feature allows you to create a deep copy of an object, so that changes to the cloned object do not affect the original object.

{"const clone = require('clone');
const obj = { a: 1, b: { c: 2 } };
const objClone = clone(obj);
console.log(objClone); // { a: 1, b: { c: 2 } }
objClone.b.c = 3;
console.log(obj.b.c); // 2, original object is not affected"}

Cloning arrays

This feature allows you to create a deep copy of an array, including any nested arrays, without affecting the original array.

{"const clone = require('clone');
const arr = [1, 2, [3, 4]];
const arrClone = clone(arr);
console.log(arrClone); // [1, 2, [3, 4]]
arrClone[2][0] = 5;
console.log(arr[2][0]); // 3, original array is not affected"}

Cloning dates

This feature allows you to clone Date objects, creating a new instance that represents the same moment in time as the original.

{"const clone = require('clone');
const date = new Date();
const dateClone = clone(date);
console.log(dateClone); // date object representing the same moment in time
console.log(date === dateClone); // false, they are different instances"}

Other packages similar to clone

lodash.clonedeep

lodash.clonedeep is a method from the Lodash library that provides deep cloning of objects and arrays. It is similar to clone but is part of a larger utility library that offers a wide range of functions for manipulating and traversing data.

deep-copy

deep-copy is another npm package that offers deep cloning functionality. It supports cloning of complex objects, including those with circular references. It is similar to clone but also handles functions and symbols, which clone does not.

rfdc

rfdc (Really Fast Deep Clone) is a package that focuses on performance for deep cloning objects and arrays. It claims to be faster than other deep cloning methods, especially for large objects. Unlike clone, rfdc does not support cloning of functions, dates, regexes, maps, sets, blobs, filelists, image data, or array buffers.

README

clone offers foolproof deep cloning of variables in JavaScript.

var clone = require("clone");

var a, b;
a = { foo: { bar: "baz" } };
b = clone(a);
a.foo.bar = "foo";

console.log(b);