Dump of hash as a hash => $VAR1 = { 'e' => [ 'F', 'G', 'H' ], 'c' => 'd', 'a' => 'b', 'i' => { 'J' => 'K', 'L' => 'M' } }; hash{i}{J} = 'K' Each element of @array: - e - ARRAY(0x804c8d4) - c - d - a - b - i - HASH(0x806024c) Dump of hash as an array => $VAR1 = [ 'e', [ 'F', 'G', 'H' ], 'c', 'd', 'a', 'b', 'i', { 'J' => 'K', 'L' => 'M' } ]; Dump of hash as a hash => $VAR1 = { 'e' => [ 'F', 'G', 'H' ], 'c' => 'd', 'a' => 'b', 'i' => { 'J' => 'K', 'L' => 'M' } }; hash{i}{J} = 'K'