What is the difference between shallow and deep copy in C++?

A shallow copy copies the pointer address. A deep copy duplicates the object itself.

Example:

1class Example {
2  int* data;
3public:
4  Example(int value) { data = new int(value); }
5  // Shallow copy: just copies the pointer
6  Example(const Example& other) { data = other.data; }
7  // Deep copy: allocates new memory
8  // Example(const Example& other) { data = new int(*other.data); }
9};

1class Example {
2  int* data;
3public:
4  Example(int value) { data = new int(value); }
5  // Shallow copy: just copies the pointer
6  Example(const Example& other) { data = other.data; }
7  // Deep copy: allocates new memory
8  // Example(const Example& other) { data = new int(*other.data); }
9};

If you use the shallow copy, both objects will share the same memory, which can lead to bugs (like double deletes). Deep copying avoids this by duplicating the data.

What is the difference between shallow and deep copy in C++?

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