Binaryworld - Implementing ICloneable - Deep copies ... [ VB.net -> Classes & Objects ]

The simplest way to create a generic deep copy routine, that is a procedure that can create a true, distinct copy of an object and all its dependent object, is to rely on the serialization features of the .NET framework.

Click here to copy the following block

Function CloneObject(ByVal obj As Object) As Object
  ' Create a memory stream and a formatter.
  Dim ms As New MemoryStream(1000)
  Dim bf As New BinaryFormatter()
  ' Serialize the object into the stream.
  bf.Serialize(ms, obj)
  ' Position streem pointer back to first byte.
  ms.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin)
  ' Deserialize into another object.
  CloneObject = bf.Deserialize(ms)
  ' Release memory.
  ms.Close()
End Function

You can use this routine as follows:

Click here to copy the following block

Dim ar(100) As Person
' Fill the array.
' ...
' Create a copy of the array AND all the objects it contains.
ar = CType(CloneObject(ar), Person())