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The copy constructor is used only for initializations, and does not apply to assignments where the assignment operator is used instead. The implicit copy constructor of a class calls base copy constructors and copies its members by means appropriate to their type. If it is a class type, the copy constructor is called.
In object-oriented programming, object copying is creating a copy of an existing object, a unit of data in object-oriented programming. The resulting object is called an object copy or simply copy of the original object. Copying is basic but has subtleties and can have significant overhead.
A Copy constructor has one formal parameter that is the type of the class (the parameter may be a reference to an object). It is used to create a copy of an existing object of the same class. Even though both classes are the same, it counts as a conversion constructor. While copy constructors are usually abbreviated copy ctor or cctor, they ...
Copy constructor if no move constructor and move assignment operator are explicitly declared. If a destructor is declared generation of a copy constructor is deprecated (C++11, proposal N3242 [2]). Move constructor if no copy constructor, copy assignment operator, move assignment operator and destructor are explicitly declared.
copy assignment operator; move constructor; move assignment operator; Situations exist where classes may need destructors, but cannot sensibly implement copy and move constructors and copy and move assignment operators. This happens, for example, when the base class does not support these latter Big Four members, but the derived class's ...
In C++, by contrast, objects are copied automatically whenever a function takes an object argument by value or returns an object by value. Additionally, due to the lack of garbage collection in C++, programs will frequently copy an object whenever the ownership and lifetime of a single shared object would be unclear.
C++ objects in general behave like primitive types, so to copy a C++ object one could use the '=' (assignment) operator. There is a default assignment operator provided for all classes, but its effect may be altered through the use of operator overloading. There are dangers when using this technique (see slicing).
Like the copy assignment operator it is a special member function. If the move assignment operator is not explicitly defined, the compiler generates an implicit move assignment operator ( C++11 and newer) provided that copy / move constructors , copy assignment operator or destructors have not been declared. [ 1 ]