How can PHP objects be effectively copied to prevent unintended changes across multiple files?

When PHP objects are passed by reference, changes made to the object in one file can affect the object in another file, leading to unintended consequences. To prevent this, PHP objects can be effectively copied using the `clone` keyword. By cloning the object, a new instance is created, ensuring that changes made to the copied object do not affect the original object. 

// Original object
class MyClass {
    public $property = 'value';
}

$originalObject = new MyClass();

// Copying the object using clone
$copiedObject = clone $originalObject;

// Making changes to the copied object
$copiedObject->property = 'new value';

// Original object remains unaffected
echo $originalObject->property; // Output: value
echo $copiedObject->property; // Output: new value

Keywords

PHP objects copying unintended changes multiple files prevent

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