# copy - pydoc - phpman

Help on module copy:

## NAME
    copy - Generic (shallow and deep) copying operations.

## MODULE REFERENCE
    <https://docs.python.org/3.10/library/copy.html>

    The following documentation is automatically generated from the Python
    source files.  It may be incomplete, incorrect or include features that
    are considered implementation detail and may vary between Python
    implementations.  When in doubt, consult the module reference at the
    location listed above.

## DESCRIPTION
    Interface summary:

            import copy

            x = copy.copy(y)        # make a shallow copy of y
            x = copy.deepcopy(y)    # make a deep copy of y

    For module specific errors, copy.Error is raised.

    The difference between shallow and deep copying is only relevant for
    compound objects (objects that contain other objects, like lists or
    class instances).

    - A shallow copy constructs a new compound object and then (to the
      extent possible) inserts *the same objects* into it that the
      original contains.

    - A deep copy constructs a new compound object and then, recursively,
      inserts *copies* into it of the objects found in the original.

    Two problems often exist with deep copy operations that don't exist
    with shallow copy operations:

     a) recursive objects (compound objects that, directly or indirectly,
        contain a reference to themselves) may cause a recursive loop

     b) because deep copy copies *everything* it may copy too much, e.g.
        administrative data structures that should be shared even between
        copies

    Python's deep copy operation avoids these problems by:

     a) keeping a table of objects already copied during the current
        copying pass

     b) letting user-defined classes override the copying operation or the
        set of components copied

    This version does not copy types like module, class, function, method,
    nor stack trace, stack frame, nor file, socket, window, nor any
    similar types.

    Classes can use the same interfaces to control copying that they use
    to control pickling: they can define methods called __getinitargs__(),
    __getstate__() and __setstate__().  See the documentation for module
    "pickle" for information on these methods.

## CLASSES
    builtins.Exception(builtins.BaseException)
        Error

### class Error
     |  Method resolution order:
     |      Error
     |      builtins.Exception
     |      builtins.BaseException
     |      builtins.object
     |
     |  Data descriptors defined here:
     |
     |  __weakref__
     |      list of weak references to the object (if defined)
     |
     |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     |  Methods inherited from builtins.Exception:
     |
     |  __init__(self, /, *args, **kwargs)
     |      Initialize self.  See help(type(self)) for accurate signature.
     |
     |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     |  Static methods inherited from builtins.Exception:
     |
     |  __new__(*args, **kwargs) from builtins.type
     |      Create and return a new object.  See help(type) for accurate signature.
     |
     |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     |  Methods inherited from builtins.BaseException:
     |
     |  __delattr__(self, name, /)
     |      Implement delattr(self, name).
     |
     |  __getattribute__(self, name, /)
     |      Return getattr(self, name).
     |
     |  __reduce__(...)
     |      Helper for pickle.
     |
     |  __repr__(self, /)
     |      Return repr(self).
     |
     |  __setattr__(self, name, value, /)
     |      Implement setattr(self, name, value).
     |
     |  __setstate__(...)
     |
     |  __str__(self, /)
     |      Return str(self).
     |
     |  with_traceback(...)
     |      Exception.with_traceback(tb) --
     |      set self.__traceback__ to tb and return self.
     |
     |  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
     |  Data descriptors inherited from builtins.BaseException:
     |
     |  __cause__
     |      exception cause
     |
     |  __context__
     |      exception context
     |
     |  __dict__
     |
     |  __suppress_context__
     |
     |  __traceback__
     |
     |  args

## FUNCTIONS
### copy
        Shallow copy operation on arbitrary Python objects.

        See the module's __doc__ string for more info.

### deepcopy
        Deep copy operation on arbitrary Python objects.

        See the module's __doc__ string for more info.

## DATA
    __all__ = ['Error', 'copy', 'deepcopy']

## FILE
    /usr/lib/python3.10/copy.py