1 //! The `Clone` trait for types that cannot be 'implicitly copied'.
3 //! In Rust, some simple types are "implicitly copyable" and when you
4 //! assign them or pass them as arguments, the receiver will get a copy,
5 //! leaving the original value in place. These types do not require
6 //! allocation to copy and do not have finalizers (i.e., they do not
7 //! contain owned boxes or implement [`Drop`]), so the compiler considers
8 //! them cheap and safe to copy. For other types copies must be made
9 //! explicitly, by convention implementing the [`Clone`] trait and calling
10 //! the [`clone`] method.
12 //! [`clone`]: Clone::clone
14 //! Basic usage example:
17 //! let s = String::new(); // String type implements Clone
18 //! let copy = s.clone(); // so we can clone it
21 //! To easily implement the Clone trait, you can also use
22 //! `#[derive(Clone)]`. Example:
25 //! #[derive(Clone)] // we add the Clone trait to Morpheus struct
32 //! let f = Morpheus { blue_pill: 0.0, red_pill: 0 };
33 //! let copy = f.clone(); // and now we can clone it!
37 #![stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
39 /// A common trait for the ability to explicitly duplicate an object.
41 /// Differs from [`Copy`] in that [`Copy`] is implicit and an inexpensive bit-wise copy, while
42 /// `Clone` is always explicit and may or may not be expensive. In order to enforce
43 /// these characteristics, Rust does not allow you to reimplement [`Copy`], but you
44 /// may reimplement `Clone` and run arbitrary code.
46 /// Since `Clone` is more general than [`Copy`], you can automatically make anything
47 /// [`Copy`] be `Clone` as well.
51 /// This trait can be used with `#[derive]` if all fields are `Clone`. The `derive`d
52 /// implementation of [`Clone`] calls [`clone`] on each field.
54 /// [`clone`]: Clone::clone
56 /// For a generic struct, `#[derive]` implements `Clone` conditionally by adding bound `Clone` on
57 /// generic parameters.
60 /// // `derive` implements Clone for Reading<T> when T is Clone.
62 /// struct Reading<T> {
67 /// ## How can I implement `Clone`?
69 /// Types that are [`Copy`] should have a trivial implementation of `Clone`. More formally:
70 /// if `T: Copy`, `x: T`, and `y: &T`, then `let x = y.clone();` is equivalent to `let x = *y;`.
71 /// Manual implementations should be careful to uphold this invariant; however, unsafe code
72 /// must not rely on it to ensure memory safety.
74 /// An example is a generic struct holding a function pointer. In this case, the
75 /// implementation of `Clone` cannot be `derive`d, but can be implemented as:
78 /// struct Generate<T>(fn() -> T);
80 /// impl<T> Copy for Generate<T> {}
82 /// impl<T> Clone for Generate<T> {
83 /// fn clone(&self) -> Self {
89 /// ## Additional implementors
91 /// In addition to the [implementors listed below][impls],
92 /// the following types also implement `Clone`:
94 /// * Function item types (i.e., the distinct types defined for each function)
95 /// * Function pointer types (e.g., `fn() -> i32`)
96 /// * Tuple types, if each component also implements `Clone` (e.g., `()`, `(i32, bool)`)
97 /// * Closure types, if they capture no value from the environment
98 /// or if all such captured values implement `Clone` themselves.
99 /// Note that variables captured by shared reference always implement `Clone`
100 /// (even if the referent doesn't),
101 /// while variables captured by mutable reference never implement `Clone`.
103 /// [impls]: #implementors
104 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
106 #[rustc_diagnostic_item = "Clone"]
107 #[rustc_trivial_field_reads]
108 pub trait Clone: Sized {
109 /// Returns a copy of the value.
114 /// # #![allow(noop_method_call)]
115 /// let hello = "Hello"; // &str implements Clone
117 /// assert_eq!("Hello", hello.clone());
119 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
120 #[must_use = "cloning is often expensive and is not expected to have side effects"]
121 fn clone(&self) -> Self;
123 /// Performs copy-assignment from `source`.
125 /// `a.clone_from(&b)` is equivalent to `a = b.clone()` in functionality,
126 /// but can be overridden to reuse the resources of `a` to avoid unnecessary
129 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
130 #[default_method_body_is_const]
131 fn clone_from(&mut self, source: &Self)
135 *self = source.clone()
139 /// Derive macro generating an impl of the trait `Clone`.
140 #[rustc_builtin_macro]
141 #[stable(feature = "builtin_macro_prelude", since = "1.38.0")]
142 #[allow_internal_unstable(core_intrinsics, derive_clone_copy)]
143 pub macro Clone($item:item) {
144 /* compiler built-in */
147 // FIXME(aburka): these structs are used solely by #[derive] to
148 // assert that every component of a type implements Clone or Copy.
150 // These structs should never appear in user code.
152 #[allow(missing_debug_implementations)]
154 feature = "derive_clone_copy",
155 reason = "deriving hack, should not be public",
158 pub struct AssertParamIsClone<T: Clone + ?Sized> {
159 _field: crate::marker::PhantomData<T>,
162 #[allow(missing_debug_implementations)]
164 feature = "derive_clone_copy",
165 reason = "deriving hack, should not be public",
168 pub struct AssertParamIsCopy<T: Copy + ?Sized> {
169 _field: crate::marker::PhantomData<T>,
172 /// Implementations of `Clone` for primitive types.
174 /// Implementations that cannot be described in Rust
175 /// are implemented in `traits::SelectionContext::copy_clone_conditions()`
176 /// in `rustc_trait_selection`.
181 macro_rules! impl_clone {
184 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
185 #[rustc_const_unstable(feature = "const_clone", issue = "91805")]
186 impl const Clone for $t {
188 fn clone(&self) -> Self {
197 usize u8 u16 u32 u64 u128
198 isize i8 i16 i32 i64 i128
203 #[unstable(feature = "never_type", issue = "35121")]
204 #[rustc_const_unstable(feature = "const_clone", issue = "91805")]
205 impl const Clone for ! {
207 fn clone(&self) -> Self {
212 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
213 #[rustc_const_unstable(feature = "const_clone", issue = "91805")]
214 impl<T: ?Sized> const Clone for *const T {
216 fn clone(&self) -> Self {
221 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
222 #[rustc_const_unstable(feature = "const_clone", issue = "91805")]
223 impl<T: ?Sized> const Clone for *mut T {
225 fn clone(&self) -> Self {
230 /// Shared references can be cloned, but mutable references *cannot*!
231 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
232 #[rustc_const_unstable(feature = "const_clone", issue = "91805")]
233 impl<T: ?Sized> const Clone for &T {
235 #[rustc_diagnostic_item = "noop_method_clone"]
236 fn clone(&self) -> Self {
241 /// Shared references can be cloned, but mutable references *cannot*!
242 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
243 impl<T: ?Sized> !Clone for &mut T {}