As the wise monks above pointed out, using a hash is a good idea!

Another thing I would like to mention is the possibility of using: $data[$n]{$fieldname} Instead of: $data{$fieldname}[$n]

I think under most situations, you would probably want the former layout. Not only is it more sensible, but it would under most situations(*) preform better.

(*) Most situations is defined as zero overhead for the use of hashes (which I think is on the slate somewhere for future version of perl with hash use in this way), as well as entry number oriented access. That is, you generally access a particular entry, rather than a particular field.

Enjoy!
Gryn