Java variable aliasing workaround

Question

I've recently moved to Java, but I've had some problems with variable aliasing. I've searched everywhere, but I can't seem to find the proper way to copy the contents of one object to another object without just referencing to the same object. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Edit: What if it is an int that I am having aliasing problems with? Should I be avoiding situations like this in the first place? If so, how?

Answer 1

If your class implements the Clonable interface, then you can use the Object.clone() method to create a hard copy. The Wikipedia entry has some good details.

An alternative is to use copy constructors, which according to this page are safer.