Cloning Objects

To clone an object, call the %ConstructClone() method of that object. This method creates a new OREF.

The following Terminal session demonstrates this:

MYNAMESPACE>set person=##class(Sample.Person).%OpenId(1)
 
MYNAMESPACE>set NewPerson=person.%ConstructClone()
 
MYNAMESPACE>w
 
NewPerson=<OBJECT REFERENCE>[2@Sample.Person]
person=<OBJECT REFERENCE>[1@Sample.Person]
MYNAMESPACE>

Here, you can see that the NewPerson variable uses a different OREF than the original person object. NewPerson is a clone of person (or more precisely, these variables are pointers to separate but identical objects).

In contrast, consider the following Terminal session:

MYNAMESPACE>set person=##class(Sample.Person).%OpenId(1)
 
MYNAMESPACE>set NotNew=person
 
MYNAMESPACE>w
 
NotNew=<OBJECT REFERENCE>[1@Sample.Person]
person=<OBJECT REFERENCE>[1@Sample.Person]

Notice that here, both variables refer to the same OREF. That is, NotNew is not a clone of person.

For information on arguments to this method, see the InterSystems Class Reference for %Library.RegisteredObjectOpens in a new tab.

Referring to Properties of an Instance

Determining an Object Type