'How do I move values of one list to another list [duplicate]

I want to move the data from one list to another list to create a backup variable. I am currently using the code below but it seems to clear list1 for some reason too. If someone can explain the reasoning behind this and help me with a solution, I would be very grateful. I am new to python but I have some programming knowledge from Java.

list1 = list2
list2.clear()


Solution 1:[1]

The Python tutorial on W3Schools Copy Lists may help.

In Python you can copy list instances using my_list = my_other_list.copy(). This will create a copy of the list.

But why don't we just assign the list to a variable like my_list = my_other_list? That's because we would only point to the original list thus not creating a copy.

See also: List changes unexpectedly after assignment. Why is this and how can I prevent it?

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Source: Stack Overflow

Solution Source
Solution 1 hc_dev