In the following code, I create an array a of objects that each has a property b that is initialized to 0. I copy a into c with the spread operator, hoping that I'll be able to manipulate c without affecting a. However, here's what happens:
let a = [
{
b: 0
},
{
b: 0
},
{
b: 0
},
]
let c = [...a]
c[0].b = 1
console.log(a) // a gets modified when I modify c
I understand why this happens: since the elements of a are objects, their reference is copied when I create c, so the elements of c still refer to the corresponding elements of a.
Does anyone know a way to solve this? What I want is a way to copy a and manipulate the properties of the objects in the resulting array without modifying the corresponding objects in a.
Thanks!
Possible Solution
I know you can do JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(a)), but I'm wondering if there's a less hacky solution :)
Why this is different from Copy array by value
The Copy array by value article asks about copying an array of primitives, in which the solution is the either use slice() or the spread operator. I've done that here, and the problem is different, as described in the question.
UPDATE: SOLUTION
As @talemyn pointed out, although Copy array by value is a different question, the second highest voted response to that question goes into detail about deep copying, and from that, it seems the best solution for this use case is JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(c)). Thanks!
