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Copy-Swap Idiom

Last Updated: December 6, 2025

6 min read

The Copy-Swap Idiom in C++ is one of those elegant tricks that can make your classes more efficient and easier to maintain. At its core, the idiom provides a simple way to implement the copy assignment operator using the copy constructor and a swap function. This not only simplifies your code but also helps in managing resources effectively.

Let’s dive into why this idiom is so useful and how to implement it properly, along with practical examples and edge cases that developers often overlook.

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