38
38
39
39
mod uninit;
40
40
41
- /// A common trait for the ability to explicitly duplicate an object.
41
+ /// A common trait that allows explicit creation of a "duplicate" value.
42
+ ///
43
+ /// ## Important Note on "Duplication"
44
+ ///
45
+ /// What "duplication" means depends on the type implementing `Clone`:
46
+ ///
47
+ /// - For most types, calling [`clone`] creates a semantically independent copy with its own
48
+ /// unique identity and state.
49
+ /// - For smart pointers (like [`Arc`], [`Rc`]), [`clone`] increases the reference count but points
50
+ /// to the same underlying data. This means modifications to the underlying data through one
51
+ /// clone will be visible through other clones.
52
+ /// - For reference types (`&T`), [`clone`] just creates another reference to the same value.
53
+ ///
54
+ /// This distinction is especially important when using `#[derive(Clone)]` on structs containing
55
+ /// smart pointers like `Arc<Mutex<T>>` - the cloned struct will share mutable state with the
56
+ /// original.
57
+ ///
58
+ /// [`Arc`]: ../../std/sync/struct.Arc.html
59
+ /// [`Rc`]: ../../std/rc/struct.Rc.html
42
60
///
43
61
/// Differs from [`Copy`] in that [`Copy`] is implicit and an inexpensive bit-wise copy, while
44
62
/// `Clone` is always explicit and may or may not be expensive. In order to enforce
@@ -147,7 +165,16 @@ mod uninit;
147
165
#[ rustc_diagnostic_item = "Clone" ]
148
166
#[ rustc_trivial_field_reads]
149
167
pub trait Clone : Sized {
150
- /// Returns a copy of the value.
168
+ /// Returns a duplicate of the value.
169
+ ///
170
+ /// Note that what "duplicate" means varies by type:
171
+ /// - For most types, this creates a deep, independent copy
172
+ /// - For reference types like `&T`, this creates another reference to the same value
173
+ /// - For smart pointers like [`Arc`] or [`Rc`], this increments the reference count
174
+ /// but still points to the same underlying data
175
+ ///
176
+ /// [`Arc`]: ../../std/sync/struct.Arc.html
177
+ /// [`Rc`]: ../../std/rc/struct.Rc.html
151
178
///
152
179
/// # Examples
153
180
///
@@ -157,6 +184,23 @@ pub trait Clone: Sized {
157
184
///
158
185
/// assert_eq!("Hello", hello.clone());
159
186
/// ```
187
+ ///
188
+ /// Example with a reference-counted type:
189
+ ///
190
+ /// ```
191
+ /// use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
192
+ ///
193
+ /// let data = Arc::new(Mutex::new(vec![1, 2, 3]));
194
+ /// let data_clone = data.clone(); // Creates another Arc pointing to the same Mutex
195
+ ///
196
+ /// {
197
+ /// let mut lock = data.lock().unwrap();
198
+ /// lock.push(4);
199
+ /// }
200
+ ///
201
+ /// // Changes are visible through the clone because they share the same underlying data
202
+ /// assert_eq!(*data_clone.lock().unwrap(), vec![1, 2, 3, 4]);
203
+ /// ```
160
204
#[ stable( feature = "rust1" , since = "1.0.0" ) ]
161
205
#[ must_use = "cloning is often expensive and is not expected to have side effects" ]
162
206
// Clone::clone is special because the compiler generates MIR to implement it for some types.
0 commit comments