variables being changed in 2 different lists in provider when only calling on one list

I have 2 lists in a provider. A master constant list and a blank player list with variables that change.

List<constList> TeamList = [
constList(
teamName: 'TEAM A',
teamSelectedBool: true,
AbilitiesList: [
TeamAbilites(abilityName: 'ABILITY A', abilityUsed: false),
TeamAbilites(abilityName: 'ABILITY B', abilityUsed: false),
TeamAbilites(abilityName: 'ABILITY C', abilityUsed: false),
],
),
constList(
teamName: 'TEAM B',
teamSelectedBool: false,
AbilitiesList: [
TeamAbilites(abilityName: 'ABILITY 1', abilityUsed: false),
TeamAbilites(abilityName: 'ABILITY 2', abilityUsed: false),
TeamAbilites(abilityName: 'ABILITY 3', abilityUsed: false),
],
),
];

List<UserList> Player1List = [
teamName: '',
teamSelectedBool: false,
AbilitiesList: [],
];

And here are the classes that feed into the above lists:

class constList {
String teamName;
bool teamSelectedBool;
List<TeamAbilities> AbilitiesList;
constList ({required this.teamName, required this.teamSelectedBool, required this.AbilitiesList});
}

class Player1List {
String teamName;
bool teamSelectedBool;
List<TeamAbilities> AbilitiesList;

void AbilityUsedTrue(index) {
    AbilitiesList[index].abilityUsed = true;
  }

  void AbilityUsedFalse(index) {
    AbilitiesList[index].abilityUsed = false;
  }

void teamSelectedBoolToggle() {
    teamSelectedBool= !teamSelectedBool;
  }

Player1List ({required this.teamName, required this.teamSelectedBool, required this.AbilitiesList});
}

class TeamAbilities {
String abilityName;
bool abilityUsed;

Abilities ({required this.abilityName, required this.abilityUsed});
}

when a user chooses a team from the TeamList, the below function is called and the data in the master constant list is copied over to the blank player list.

void Player1ListUpdateVariables(constList item) {
    Player1List[0].teamName = item.teamName;
    Player1List[0].teamSelectedBool = item.teamSelectedBool;
    Player1List[0].AbilitiesList= item.AbilitiesList;
    notifyListeners();
  }

this I have working and the data is being copied over so I then only need to call on Player1List later in the app to change any of the variables.

The problem I'm having is later in the app, when the user presses a button to change any of the abilityUsed bools in the Player1List using the below code:

print(context.read<MyProvider().TeamList[0].AbilitiesList[0].abilityUsed);
context.read<MyProvider>().Player1List[0].AbilityUsedTrue(0);
print(context.read<MyProvider().TeamList[0].AbilitiesList[0].abilityUsed);

it is also changing the bools in the master constant list of the selected team too. As if they were linked. I can see this because print statement above returns false and the last print statement returns true.

how do i stop this and have it so that when the player chooses as team, the data in the constant list is transferred over to the player list only once and then i have a constant list that doesn't change and a player list where I can change all the variables?

thanks so much and any help would be greatly appreciated.

The issue you are encountering is a common one in programming languages that deal with reference types. In Dart, when you assign an object (which is a reference type) to another variable, it doesn't create a new copy of that object, it simply makes the new variable refer to the same object. So, any changes you make via one variable will be reflected when you access the object via the other variable, because they're both referring to the same underlying object.

If you want to create a copy of an object in Dart (i.e., a "deep copy"), you have to do it manually. Dart doesn't have built-in support for deep copying, so you have to create a new object and manually copy over each property. Here's how you can do that:

void Player1ListUpdateVariables(constList item) {
  // Create a new List<TeamAbilities> where each element is a copy of the corresponding
  // element in item.AbilitiesList.
  var copiedAbilitiesList = item.AbilitiesList.map((ability) =>
    TeamAbilities(abilityName: ability.abilityName, abilityUsed: ability.abilityUsed)
  ).toList();

  Player1List[0].teamName = item.teamName;
  Player1List[0].teamSelectedBool = item.teamSelectedBool;
  Player1List[0].AbilitiesList = copiedAbilitiesList;
  notifyListeners();
}

This way, you're creating a new List<TeamAbilities> where each element is a copy of the corresponding element in item.AbilitiesList. Then, when you assign this new list to Player1List[0].AbilitiesList, it doesn't matter if you modify the TeamAbilities objects in it - they're separate from the ones in item.AbilitiesList.