What is the difference between shallow and deep copying in programming?

What is the difference between shallow and deep copying in programming?

Shallow copying creates a new object but inserts references into it to the objects found in the original. Deep copying creates a new object and recursively copies all objects found in the original.

Can you give me an example of each?

Sure! In Python, a shallow copy can be made using copy.copy(), while a deep copy can be made using copy.deepcopy().

When should I use shallow copying instead of deep copying?

Use shallow copying when you want to copy an object but don't need to duplicate the nested objects. It's faster and uses less memory.

Are there any drawbacks to using shallow copying?

Yes, if the original object is modified, the changes will reflect in the shallow copy since they share references to the same nested objects.