How do you copy an object in Python?

In Python, the assignment operator (=) creates a reference between the target variable and the object, rather than creating a new copy of the object. To create a copy of an object, you can use the copy module.

Two types of copies can be created using this module, shallow copy and deep copy.

  1. A shallow copy creates a new object with a copy of the values in the original object, but if the original object contains references to other objects, the shallow copy will only copy the references.

  2. A deep copy, however, creates a completely new copy of the original object, including any referenced objects.

Here are example code snippets of how you can create a shallow and deep copy using the copy module:

Shallow copy:

You can use the copy() function to create a shallow copy of an object:

Deep copy:

You can also use the deepcopy() function to create a deep copy of an object, which copies the object itself and any objects it contains (if it is a container object).