Copy an Array in Java

There are many ways to copy an array in Java. Here, we will explore the following:

• Using the clone() method
• Using System.arraycopy()
• Using the Arrays.copyOf()

Copy an array in Java using the clone() method

This is the most used way of cloning objects. The clone() method belongs to Object class, and we can use it to clone/copy an array.

Example

class Test {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    String[] names = new String[]{"Megan", "Tom", "Steve", "Melissa", "Ryan"};

    String[] names2 = names.clone();

    Arrays.stream(names2).forEach(System.out::print);
  }
}

Using the System.arraycopy()

There is also one useful method from the System class – arraycopy().

Declaration of the method:

/** 
* @param      src      the source array.
* @param      srcPos   starting position in the source array.
* @param      dest     the destination array.
* @param      destPos  starting position in the destination data.
* @param      length   the number of array elements to be copied.
*/
public static native void arraycopy(Object src,  int  srcPos, Object dest, int destPos, int length);

Let’s use it:

class Test {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    String[] names = new String[]{"Megan", "Tom", "Steve", "Melissa", "Ryan"};

    String[] copyOfNames = new String[names.length];

    System.arraycopy(names, 0, copyOfNames, 0, copyOfNames.length);

    Arrays.stream(copyOfNames).forEach(System.out::print);
  }
}

Using the Arrays.copyOf()

We can use the copyOf() method from the Arrays class. The copyOf() method calls the System.arraycopy() internally.

Example

class Test {

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    String[] names = new String[]{"Megan", "Tom", "Steve", "Melissa", "Ryan"};

    String[] copyOfNames = Arrays.copyOf(names, names.length);

    Arrays.stream(copyOfNames).forEach(System.out::print);
  }
}