Unsetting properties in array of objects where parent is a clone

Question

I need to clone an object, then remove some properties from the clone. Using unset() on the cloned object works fine, but not on the cloned objects array of objects. I have simplified the object as it has quite a few more properties but the premise is the same.

$testobject = new stdClass();
$testobject->propertya = 'banana';
$testobject->propertyb = 'orange';
$testobject->propertyc = 'apple';
$testobject->childarray = array();
$testobject->childarray[] = new stdClass();
$testobject->childarray[0]->childpropertya = 'cola';
$testobject->childarray[0]->childpropertyb = 'bread';
$testobject->childarray[0]->childpropertyc = 'pasta';

echo "Original object:\n";
print_r($testobject);

$cloneobject = clone $testobject;

unset($cloneobject->propertyb);
foreach ($cloneobject->childarray as $index => $data) {
    unset ($data->childpropertya);
}
unset($cloneobject->childarray['childpropertyc']);

echo "Original object expected to be the same but is NOT!:\n";
print_r($testobject);

I expect the $testobject not to change, but it does. Why?!

I have re-created the format in a 3v4l here

I'd like to direct you to an answer I've written earlier about a similar issue. — El_Vanja
– El_Vanja, Commented Jan 28, 2021 at 18:26
it's because the method clone will just clone the properties of a class if this properties isn't objects. objects will be referenced, so if you change that object on $testobject, $cloneobjec will change too — Rafael Dourado D
– Rafael Dourado D, Commented Jan 28, 2021 at 18:38
clone ain't recursive. Take a look at stackoverflow.com/questions/10831798/php-deep-clone-object — mighty_dev
– mighty_dev, Commented Jan 28, 2021 at 18:41
@nice_dev thanks for the tip. Used the unserialize(serialize()) method you linked to; works perfect. Thanks! — Kaleb Thompson
– Kaleb Thompson, Commented Jan 29, 2021 at 0:45

Kaleb Thompson · Accepted Answer · 2021-01-29 00:44:38Z

0

Solved, thanks for the tip @nice_dev

$testobject = new stdClass();
$testobject->propertya = 'banana';
$testobject->propertyb = 'orange';
$testobject->propertyc = 'apple';
$testobject->childarray = array();
$testobject->childarray[] = new stdClass();
$testobject->childarray[0]->childpropertya = 'cola';
$testobject->childarray[0]->childpropertyb = 'bread';
$testobject->childarray[0]->childpropertyc = 'pasta';

echo "Original object \n";
print_r($testobject);

$cloneobject = unserialize(serialize($testobject));

unset($cloneobject->propertyb);
foreach ($cloneobject->childarray as $index => $data) {
    unset ($data->childpropertya);
}
unset($cloneobject->childarray['childpropertyc']);

echo "Original object is the same!\n";
print_r($testobject);
echo "Copied object is now different than $testobject!\n";
print_r($cloneobject);

answered Jan 29, 2021 at 0:44

Kaleb Thompson

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