fionbarr:

If one way were better in all ways, then we wouldn't need more than one way to do the job. So it depends on how you measure better. But without telling us how you plan to measure "better", there's no way we can give you a reasonable answer. Typical measures are: which is faster for task X? which takes less space when doing Y? which has the simpler API? which provides the most flexibility? etc...

...roboticus

Update: It's kind of like asking "which is better: butterscotch pudding or watermelon Jello?" There's no way I can tell you which is better for you, but I can tell you that for me, watermelon Jello is the "best". (I can't stand butterscotch pudding.)

If you are using a current version of Perl, say > 5.5, using tie %hash is the way to go. Be advised, on some versions/ports tie DOES NOT return the reference to the underlying object of the tie on success. If you are planning to use an extended routine via $ref->routine( ), you may get the reference by $ref = tied(%hash) first. Be sure that the $ref is undef/out-of-scope before you untie %hash. Good luck. -c

Be advised, on some versions/ports tie DOES NOT return the reference to the underlying object of the tie on success.

Um, tie always returns the reference to the underlying object, always.

...Mostly on non-Unix platforms. You sometimes receive just a 1, true, on success. I have been burned on this a few times, but then again, I work with a lot of non-Unix distributions. Thanks. -c