local acts on the value, not the variable. Don't think about it as localizing the hash reference, nor even localizing the hash. If you look at the code I've provided, I have no explicit package variables, and I'm localizing a value stored in an anonymous hash.

The reason for your cited line from the documentation is to try to prevent people from thinking that my and local do anything even remotely similar. (That's a little hyperbole, which I can expound upon as necessary).

Update: Code is worth a thousand words. 

use strict;
use warnings;
use Data::Dumper;


my $hash_ref = {1 => 2, 3 => 4};
BLOCK: {
    local $hash_ref->{1} = 5;
    $hash_ref->{3} = 6;
    print Dumper $hash_ref;
}

print Dumper $hash_ref;

[download]
Note the localized value associated with the key 1 is restored when you exit the block, but the (unlocalized) value associated with the key 3 is not.

#11929 First ask yourself `How would I do this without a computer?' Then have the computer do it the same way.

In reply to Re^3: use 'local' modifier to hashref element by kennethk
in thread use 'local' modifier to hashref element by schetchik

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