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Clone Object

cloneObject​

Creates a deep clone of an object using JSON serialization.

Function Signature​

cloneObject<T extends GenericObject>(obj: T): T

Parameters​

ParameterTypeDescription
objT extends GenericObjectThe object to clone

Returns​

A new object that is a deep clone of the input.

Example Usage​

import { cloneObject } from 'nhb-toolbox';

const original = { 
  name: 'John',
  address: {
    city: 'New York'
  }
};

const cloned = cloneObject(original);

console.log(cloned === original); // false
console.log(isDeepEqual(cloned, original)); // true
console.log(cloned.address === original.address); // false

Type Definition​

type GenericObject = Record<string, any>;

Behavior Details​

  1. Deep Cloning

    • Nested objects are fully cloned
    • Array references are broken
    • Circular references will cause errors

  2. Supported Types

    • Objects
    • Arrays
    • Primitives (string, number, boolean, null)
    • Dates (converted to strings)
    • Other JSON-serializable values

  3. Unsupported Types

    • Functions
    • Symbols
    • Undefined values
    • Class instances
    • DOM elements
    • Circular references

Limitations​

  1. Performance

    • Not optimal for very large objects
    • Serialization/deserialization has overhead

  2. Type Fidelity

    • Loses type information for custom classes
    • Converts Dates to strings

  3. Edge Cases

    • Throws on circular references
    • Drops undefined values

Use Cases​

  • Creating object snapshots
  • Immutable state updates
  • Breaking reference chains
  • Simple deep copies of data objects

Alternative Approaches​

For more robust cloning consider:

  • Built-in structuredClone
  • Structured cloning algorithm
  • Lodash's cloneDeep
  • Manual cloning for complex types