You need to store the references in the @AoH if you want it to reflect the changes:

#!/usr/bin/perl
use warnings;
use strict;

my @AoH;
my @age_ref = (42, 33);

@AoH = (
    { age => \$age_ref[0] },
    {},
    { age => \$age_ref[1] },
);


use Data::Dumper; print Dumper \@age_ref;

@age_ref = (1, 2);

use Data::Dumper; print Dumper \@AoH;
[download]

($q=q:Sq=~/;[c](.)(.)/;chr(-||-|5+lengthSq)`"S|oS2"`map{chr |+ord
}map{substrSq`S_+|`|}3E|-|`7**2-3:)=~y+S|`+$1,++print+eval$q,q,a,
[download]

Thanks for that, choroba,

If references work the other way round (i.e. I need to store the reference in the @AoH), then why does this code update the @AoH?:


@AoH =
(
        { name => Adam, age => 0 },
        { name => Bob,  age => 10 },
        { name => Cat,  age => 20 }
);

@age_ref = (\$AoH[0]{age},\$AoH[2]{age});
${$age_ref[1]} = 23;
print "\$AoH[2]{age} = $AoH[2]{age}\n";
# The above prints '$AoH[2]{age} = 23'
[download]

Thanks.
Tel2

When you assign to @AoH directly

@AoH = ...
[download]

the previous contents of the @AoH is irrelevant, the array now contains different elements. When you assign to something an elements references to, it changes the thing being referenced.

($q=q:Sq=~/;[c](.)(.)/;chr(-||-|5+lengthSq)`"S|oS2"`map{chr |+ord
}map{substrSq`S_+|`|}3E|-|`7**2-3:)=~y+S|`+$1,++print+eval$q,q,a,
[download]

I didn't know they were hacks, Rolf, but thanks for the tips.

It's a "hack" because you really need special reasons to assign to a list of references, that is rarely needed and complicated.

It looks like you are updating a full record of ages from SQL.

I'd suggest to look into DBI->fetchall_hashref() and even considering changing your data structure to ->fetchall_hashref("name") (or whatever your primary key is)

Cheers Rolf
_{(addicted to the Perl Programming Language :)
Wikisyntax for the Monastery FootballPerl is like chess, only without the dice}