Java Vector clone() Method

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

In Java, the clone() method of the Vector class is used to return a shallow copy of the vector. It just creates a copy of the vector. The copy will have a reference to a clone of the internal data array but not a reference to the original internal data array.

Example 1: In this example, we use the clone() method to create the shallow copy of a vector of integer type.

Java

// Demonstrating the use of clone() method  // with a Vector of Integer type import java.util.Vector; class Geeks {  public static void main(String[] args)  {  // Creating a vector  Vector<Integer> v = new Vector<>();  // using add() to insert elements in the vector  v.add(100);  v.add(200);  v.add(300);  System.out.println("The Original Vector is: " + v);  // Cloning the original vector  Vector<Integer> cv = (Vector<Integer>)v.clone();  // Displaying the cloned vector  System.out.println("The Cloned Vector is: " + cv);  } }

Output

The Original Vector is: [100, 200, 300] The Cloned Vector is: [100, 200, 300]

Syntax of Vector clone`()` Method

public Object clone()

Return Type: It returns an object which is just the copy of the vector.

Example 2: In this example, we create a shallow copy of a vector of string type.

Java

// Demonstrating the use of clone() method  // with a Vector of String type import java.util.Vector; public class Geeks {  public static void main(String args[])  {  // Creating a vector  Vector<String> v = new Vector<String>();  // using add() method to insert   // elements in the vector  v.add("Geeks");  v.add("For");  v.add("Geeks");  System.out.println("The Original Vector is: " + v);  // Cloning the Original vector  Vector<String> cv = (Vector<String>)v.clone();  // Displaying the Cloned vector  System.out.println("The Cloned Vector is: " + cv);  } }

Output

The Original Vector is: [Geeks, For, Geeks] The Cloned Vector is: [Geeks, For, Geeks]

Example 3: To better understand shallow copying, here's an example using a vector containing mutable objects.

Java

// Demonstrating the use of clone() method with  // a Vector of StringBuilder objects import java.util.Vector; public class Geeks {    public static void main(String[] args) {    // Creating a vector of StringBuilder objects  Vector<StringBuilder> vec = new Vector<>();  vec.add(new StringBuilder("Hello"));  vec.add(new StringBuilder("Geeks"));    System.out.println("The Original Vector is: " + vec);    // Cloning the original vector  Vector<StringBuilder> cv = (Vector<StringBuilder>) vec.clone();    System.out.println("The Cloned Vector is: " + cv);    // Modifying an element in the original vector  vec.get(0).append(" Java");    System.out.println("After modification: ");  System.out.println("The Original Vector is: " + vec);  System.out.println("The Cloned Vector is: " + cv);  } }

Output

The Original Vector is: [Hello, Geeks] The Cloned Vector is: [Hello, Geeks] After modification: The Original Vector is: [Hello Java, Geeks] The Cloned Vector is: [Hello Java, Geeks]