Replacement for BinaryFormatter cloning

[AlleSchonWeg]

Hi,
i evaluate alternatives for cloning with deprecated BinaryFormatter and i have a few questions. Atm i try to replace it with System.Text.Json. Like this:

private static System.Text.Json.JsonSerializerOptions options;
public static T DeepCloneWithJson<T>(T source)
{
    if (source == null) return
            default;
    if (options == null)
    {
        options = new System.Text.Json.JsonSerializerOptions()
        {
            DefaultIgnoreCondition = JsonIgnoreCondition.WhenWritingNull,
            WriteIndented = false,
            ReferenceHandler = ReferenceHandler.Preserve,
            Converters = {
            new JsonStringEnumConverter()
        },
            IncludeFields = true
        };
    }
    var jsonUtf8Bytes = System.Text.Json.JsonSerializer.SerializeToUtf8Bytes(source, options);
    return System.Text.Json.JsonSerializer.Deserialize<T>(jsonUtf8Bytes, options);
}

• Can i clone objects with cyclic references?
• Can i clone objects with properties with object type?
• Is FastCloner faster as System.Text.json?
• Are default constructor necessary with empty parameters?

Thank you very much.

[lofcz]

Hi, in short:

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Yes, benchmarked by SinglePlayer Tarkov mod. We also consume way less memory.
4. No - they are used only for dictionary like types if available (and we can fallback to memberwise cloning).

Hope this helps.

[AlleSchonWeg]

Short answers are the best ;)
Next questions:

• Are the Clone methods thread save?
• Can i use it in web applications (web forms, .Net Framework 4.8)

Thanks again

[lofcz]

1. Yes.
2. Yes, we are netstandard 2.0 compatible, 0 dependencies anywhere, and we support netfw 4.6+.

[AlleSchonWeg]

Hi,
i tested the library and it looks good. It's faster than BinaryFormatter. Now i have to more questions ;)

1. When is it necessary to clear the cache?
2. I read that you plan a source generator. Will this make FastCloner even faster? Do you know https://github.com/eiriktsarpalis/PolyType? Perhaps this can help you replace reflection with source generator and aot support.

[lofcz]

1. Never. Someone requested this as they want to no longer allocate heap memory when they are done with the library.
2. I won't add dependency on PolyType. FastCloner's incremental source generator is underway, and it is not about replacing reflection, which can clone types you don't control - instead it coexists with reflection and can provide performance when needed. And yes, using it will be faster than doing things via reflection.

[AlleSchonWeg]

Is it possible to add cloning support for:

• System.Drawing.Image (MetaFile, Bitmap)
• System.Drawing.Icon
• System.Drawing.Brush (SolidBrush, etc. ) ?

For System.Drawing.Font i need the FastCloner.Contrib nuget and call Register(). Correct?

[lofcz]

You can add this into the Contrib module, and yes, call Register.

[AlleSchonWeg]

Do you have a sample how can i add this?
FastClonerExprGenerator is internal.
https://github.com/lofcz/FastCloner/blob/32a6a0d6f4d58f37356413a4f062be82cdfc0fd1/FastCloner.Contrib/ContribTypeHandlers.cs

[lofcz]

Update your dependency to 3.3.12 and remove dependency on the Contrib module - the core library should now correctly handle System.Drawing types without dependency on the System.Drawing library.

[AlleSchonWeg]

Thank you. Works flawlessly.