How to Deep Copy Polymorphic Objects in C ?

Copying a Polymorphic Object in C

Replicating a polymorphic object in C requires careful consideration of its dynamic nature. When faced with an unknown derived class, conventional copy construction or operator overloading becomes impractical.

The suggested solution involves implementing a virtual Clone() method in the base class:

class Base {
public:
  virtual Base* Clone() = 0;
};

Within each derived class, the Clone() implementation specifies the appropriate type:

class Derived1 : public Base {
public:
  Derived1* Clone() {
    return new Derived1(*this);
  }
};

An alternative C approach is to leverage copy constructors and covariant return types:

class Base {
public:
  virtual Base* Clone() = 0;
};

class Derivedn : public Base {
public:
  Derivedn* Clone() {
    return new Derivedn(*this);  // Covariant return type
  }
private:
  Derivedn(const Derivedn&) : ... {}
};

By implementing the Clone() method or utilizing copy constructors, C allows for deep copying of polymorphic objects, accommodating both dynamic type uncertainty and data integrity.

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