my %hash = ( all => 'old' );       # simple hash value
foo(\%hash);                       # pass reference to hash

sub foo {                          # recieve reference aliased as $_[0]
  my $ref = shift;                 # copy reference to $ref (and throw away the $_[0] alias)
  $ref = { all => 'new' };         # overwrite the copy of $ref
                                   # this creates a *new* hash and a new reference in $ref
                                   # %hash is not modified
}