How to deep copy an irregular 2D array

Question

How can I deep copy an irregularly shaped 2D array in Java?

Ie.

int[][] nums =  {{5},
                 {9,4},
                 {1,7,8},
                      


        

Answer 1

Here is a simple convenient way to copy 2 dimensional arrays (compatible with DEEP copy) :

public static char[][] cloneArray(char[][] array){
 char[][] copy = new char[array.length][];
 for(int i = 0 ; i < array.length ; i++){
  System.arraycopy(array[i], 0, copy[i] = new char[array[i].length], 0, array[i].length);
 }
 return copy;
}

plz note that you simple have to change array type to anything else, like int