(1) I suggest using %hash and @array for local use, and if you need to pass it around, take a ref to it... I'll often have a routine that creates a %hash and then does a "return \%hash;". The reasoning is that the sigils are something like built-in hungarian notation, and you might as well take advantage of them when you can. (By the way: Conway recommends using a "_ref" suffix on references, but my take is that's either too heavy-handed or doesn't go far enough. If you're going to say "_ref" you might as well specify which it is: "_aref" or "_href". If all you care about is whether it's a reference or a scalar, then use plural or singular names: "$items" or "$item".

(2) But the real reason I'm writing is this remark: "These days, I often go all the way to a $universal hashref, which makes it almost trivial to save and restore the program state."

(a) 'tis true that hash field names get autovivified and hence defeat "use strict", but if you have a known set of allowed names, you can strictify them yourself, using the "lock_keys" routine from Hash::Util. 

   my %uni = map{ $_ => undef } @allowed_names;
   Hash::Util::lock_keys( %hash );

[download]
(b) but you're reinventing perl objects. You might as well just do objects... then if you're using something moose-like, like Mouse or Moo, the "allowed names" get turned into a list of "has" lines.

In reply to Re^3: Faster indexing an array by doom
in thread Faster indexing an array by wollmers

Title:
Use:  <p> text here (a paragraph) </p>
and:  <code> code here </code>
to format your post, it's "PerlMonks-approved HTML":


  • Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data!
  • Titles consisting of a single word are discouraged, and in most cases are disallowed outright.
  • Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place.
  • Please read these before you post! —
  • Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags:
    a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, details, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, summary, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr
  • You may need to use entities for some characters, as follows. (Exception: Within code tags, you can put the characters literally.)
            For:     Use:
    & &amp;
    < &lt;
    > &gt;
    [ &#91;
    ] &#93;
  • Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking?
  • See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info.