id_0 => {a=>['id_1'], b=>['id_1'], . . . z=>['id_1']} #### use strict; use warnings; my @array = ('a'..'z'); my %hash = map {$_ => ['id_1']} @array; my $hashref = \%hash; my %states = (id_0 => $hashref); print("The first transition for (state,input) pair (id_0,x) is\n"); print($states{id_0}->{x}->[0]);