Why does changing an Array in JavaScript affect copies of the array?

Question

I\'ve written the following JavaScript:

var myArray = [\'a\', \'b\', \'c\'];
var copyOfMyArray = myArray;
copyOfMyArray.splice(0, 1);
alert(myArray); // aler         


        

Answer 1

An array, or an object in javascript always holds the same reference unless you clone or copy. Here is an exmaple:

http://plnkr.co/edit/Bqvsiddke27w9nLwYhcl?p=preview

// for showing that objects in javascript shares the same reference

var obj = {
  "name": "a"
}

var arr = [];

//we push the same object
arr.push(obj);
arr.push(obj);

//if we change the value for one object
arr[0].name = "b";

//the other object also changes
alert(arr[1].name);

For object clone, we can use .clone() in jquery and angular.copy(), these functions will create new object with other reference. If you know more functions to do that, please tell me, thanks!