Create and return target obj if none provided

libs/common/spec/misc/utils.spec.ts

@@ -85,9 +85,7 @@ describe("Utils Service", () => {
         sourceProp3: "targetProp3",
       };
 
-      const target = {};
-
-      Utils.copyProperties(source, target, map);
+      const target = Utils.copyProperties(source, map);
 
       expect(target).toEqual({
         targetProp1: "value1",
@@ -103,9 +101,7 @@ describe("Utils Service", () => {
         sourceProp3: null,
       };
 
-      const target = {};
-
-      Utils.copyProperties(source, target, map);
+      const target = Utils.copyProperties(source, map);
 
       expect(target).toEqual(source);
     });

libs/common/src/misc/utils.ts

@@ -348,12 +348,21 @@ export class Utils {
     return s.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + s.slice(1);
   }
 
-  static copyProperties(source: any, target: any, map: { [sourcePropName: string]: string }) {
+  /**
+   * Copies properties from source object to target object according to a mapping
+   * @param source The source object to copy from
+   * @param map A map of $sourcePropertyName:$targetPropertyName to copy from/to. If $targetPropertyName is null,
+   *   it will use the same name as the source
+   * @param target The target object to copy into; if none is provided, a new object will be created
+   */
+  static copyProperties(source: any, map: { [sourcePropName: string]: string }, target: any = {}) {
     Object.keys(map).forEach((sourcePropName) => {
       const targetPropName = map[sourcePropName] ?? sourcePropName;
       const value = source[sourcePropName];
       target[targetPropName] = value;
     });
+
+    return target;
   }
 
   private static validIpAddress(ipString: string): boolean {