public static Comparable[] sortCopy(Comparable[] objects){
  int len=objects.length;
  Comparable[] copy=new Comparable[len];
  System.arraycopy(objects,0,copy,0,len);
  sort(copy);
  return copy;
}

public static Comparable [ ] sortCopy ( Comparable [ ] objects ) { int len = objects . length ; Comparable [ ] copy = new Comparable [ len ] ; System . arraycopy ( objects , 0 , copy , 0 , len ) ; sort ( copy ) ; return copy ; }
sorts an array of comparable objects , returning a new array with the sorted items . the original array is left untouched .
