Copy a LinkedList instance in Java

Java allows you to create a copy of a LinkedList instance by simply calling the clone() method from the instance.

For example, suppose you already have a LinkedList instance named myList as shown below:

LinkedList myList =
    new LinkedList(Arrays.asList("Nathan", "Sebhastian"));

To create a copy of the myList variable above, call the clone() method and assign the result into a new variable like this:

LinkedList copyList = (LinkedList) myList.clone();

System.out.println(copyList);

The copyList variable will have the same values as the myList variable:

[Nathan, Sebhastian]

The clone() method of the LinkedList class creates a shallow copy of the LinkedList instance where you call the method.

Alternatively, you can create a shallow copy of the instance by calling the LinkedList() constructor and passing the instance as an argument:

LinkedList myList =
    new LinkedList(Arrays.asList("Nathan", "Sebhastian"));

LinkedList copy = new LinkedList(myList);

System.out.println(copy);

The output of the println() call will be as follows:

[Nathan, Sebhastian]

Both the clone() method and the LinkedList(Collection c) constructor return a shallow copy of the existing LinkedList instance for you to use.

And that’s how you create a LinkedList instance copy in Java. 😉