Generate clone() dialog in Eclipse

Eric | November 1, 2007

Generate clone() dialog in EclipseEver had to deal with cloning of object structures in Java? As my study showed, there is actually a lot that can go wrong with this and many people do get it wrong all the time. Hence, why not have a plugin for Eclipse that helps you generate clone() methods semi-automatically? I have written exactly such a plugin. It first of all detects four different code smells with respect to cloning and in addition offers you to correct those smells by generating a correct implementation of clone().

Download the plugin here. It works with Eclipse 3.2 and later. My presentation slides show how it can be used.

I am currently discussion integration of this plugin into the main Eclipse build stream. If you support this idea, you might want to vote for it here and here.