CultureInfo.Clone Method

Definition

Creates a copy of the current CultureInfo.

C#
public virtual object Clone();

Returns

A copy of the current CultureInfo.

Implements

Examples

The following code example shows that CultureInfo.Clone also clones the DateTimeFormatInfo and NumberFormatInfo instances associated with the CultureInfo.

C#
using System;
using System.Globalization;

public class SamplesCultureInfo  {

   public static void Main()  {

      // Creates and initializes a CultureInfo.
      CultureInfo myCI = new CultureInfo("en-US", false);

      // Clones myCI and modifies the DTFI and NFI instances associated with the clone.
      CultureInfo myCIclone = (CultureInfo) myCI.Clone();
      myCIclone.DateTimeFormat.AMDesignator = "a.m.";
      myCIclone.DateTimeFormat.DateSeparator = "-";
      myCIclone.NumberFormat.CurrencySymbol = "USD";
      myCIclone.NumberFormat.NumberDecimalDigits = 4;

      // Displays the properties of the DTFI and NFI instances associated with the original and with the clone.
      Console.WriteLine( "DTFI/NFI PROPERTY\tORIGINAL\tMODIFIED CLONE" );
      Console.WriteLine( "DTFI.AMDesignator\t{0}\t\t{1}", myCI.DateTimeFormat.AMDesignator, myCIclone.DateTimeFormat.AMDesignator );
      Console.WriteLine( "DTFI.DateSeparator\t{0}\t\t{1}", myCI.DateTimeFormat.DateSeparator, myCIclone.DateTimeFormat.DateSeparator );
      Console.WriteLine( "NFI.CurrencySymbol\t{0}\t\t{1}", myCI.NumberFormat.CurrencySymbol, myCIclone.NumberFormat.CurrencySymbol );
      Console.WriteLine( "NFI.NumberDecimalDigits\t{0}\t\t{1}", myCI.NumberFormat.NumberDecimalDigits, myCIclone.NumberFormat.NumberDecimalDigits );
   }
}

/*
This code produces the following output.

DTFI/NFI PROPERTY       ORIGINAL        MODIFIED CLONE
DTFI.AMDesignator       AM              a.m.
DTFI.DateSeparator      /               -
NFI.CurrencySymbol      $               USD
NFI.NumberDecimalDigits 2               4

*/

Remarks

The clone is writable even if the original CultureInfo is read-only. Therefore, the properties of the clone can be modified.

A shallow copy of an object is a copy of the object only. If the object contains references to other objects, the shallow copy does not create copies of the referred objects. It refers to the original objects instead. In contrast, a deep copy of an object creates a copy of the object and a copy of everything directly or indirectly referenced by that object.

The Clone method creates an enhanced shallow copy. The objects returned by the NumberFormat, DateTimeFormat, TextInfo, and Calendar properties are also copied. Consequently, the cloned CultureInfo object can modify its copied properties without affecting the original CultureInfo object.

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0

See also