Question

You cannot use the _________ operator to copy data from one array to another in a single statement.

Short answer

Answer: The assignment operator (=) cannot be used for copying data from one array to another in a single statement. This is because it only copies the reference to the original array, resulting in shallow copying. Deep copying can be achieved using methods such as looping through the array and copying elements individually, or using Array.copyOf() or System.arraycopy() methods provided by the Java language.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the operator that cannot be used

The operator that cannot be used for this purpose is the assignment operator (=). The assignment operator is used to assign values to variables, but it does not work to copy data from one array to another in a single statement.

Explain why the assignment operator doesn't work for copying arrays

When the assignment operator (=) is used for copying arrays, it does not create a new array, but rather copies the reference to the original array. This means that both variables will point to the same array in memory, and any changes made to one of the arrays will affect the other as they are, in fact, the same array in memory. This is called shallow copying.

Introduce alternative methods for copying arrays

To create a true copy (also known as deep copy) of an array where the data is copied into a new array, you can use any of the following methods: 1. Loop through the original array and copy each element individually to the new array. 2. Use the `Array.copyOf()` method provided by the Java language. 3. Use the `System.arraycopy()` method provided by the Java language. These methods create a new array in memory and copy the data from the original array to the new array.

Example of copying arrays using a loop

To copy the elements of the original array to the new array using a loop, you can do the following: ``` int[] originalArray = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; int[] newArray = new int[originalArray.length]; for (int i = 0; i < originalArray.length; i++) { newArray[i] = originalArray[i]; } ```

Example of copying arrays using Array.copyOf()

To copy the elements of the original array to the new array using the `Array.copyOf()` method, you can do the following: ``` int[] originalArray = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; int[] newArray = Arrays.copyOf(originalArray, originalArray.length); ```

Example of copying arrays using System.arraycopy()

To copy the elements of the original array to the new array using the `System.arraycopy()` method, you can do the following: ``` int[] originalArray = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; int[] newArray = new int[originalArray.length]; System.arraycopy(originalArray, 0, newArray, 0, originalArray.length); ``` By utilizing any of these methods, we can successfully copy the data from one array to another in a single statement.