This is tricky because the  %fields hash (or any other object) isn't accessible until the statement is successfully executed; i.e., until the  ; (semicolon) at the end of the
    my %fields = ( ... );
is encountered.

You either have to have all the low-level anonymous hash references prepared before you begin defining the  %fields hash, or add them afterward.

It's even more tricky because the other thing to seriously consider is if you really want a copy of the hash reference to a hash with identical content, or a deep copy of the content of that identical hash.

Updates:

1. Added Wikipedia link for "deep copy", some minor wording changes.
2. As an example of what happens when you just make copies of references, consider:

   c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -MData::Dumper -le
   "my $hr_same_content = { 1 => 'Ok' };
    ;;
    my %fields = (
      version1    => $hr_same_content,
      version_TWO => $hr_same_content,
      );
    print Dumper \%fields;
    ;;
    $fields{version1}{1} = 'Oops...';
    ;;
    print $fields{version_TWO}{1};
   "
   $VAR1 = {
             'version_TWO' => {
                                '1' => 'Ok'
                              },
             'version1' => $VAR1->{'version_TWO'}
           };
   
   Oops...
   [download]

   (The  'version1' => $VAR1->{'version_TWO'} entry in the Dumper listing means that the reference that is the value of the  'version1' key is equal to the reference that is the value of the  'version_TWO' key of the hash.)
   So again, do you want to copy content or references to content?
3. If you haven't already, you might want to take a look at the Perl Data Structures Cookbook (or  perldoc perldsc from your friendly, local command line).
4. Even pre-defining  %fields doesn't help:

   c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -MData::Dumper -le
   "my %fields;
    %fields = (
      version1    => { 1 => 'Ok' },
      version_TWO => $fields{version1},
      );
    print Dumper \%fields;
    ;;
    $fields{version1}{1} = 'Oops...';
    ;;
    print $fields{version_TWO}{1};
   "
   $VAR1 = {
             'version_TWO' => undef,
             'version1' => {
                             '1' => 'Ok'
                           }
           };
   
   Use of uninitialized value in print at -e line 1.
   [download]

   This works:

   c:\@Work\Perl\monks>perl -wMstrict -MData::Dumper -le
   "my %fields = (
      version1 => { 1 => 'Ok' },
      );
    $fields{version_TWO} = $fields{version1};
    print Dumper \%fields;
    print $fields{version1}   {1};
    print $fields{version_TWO}{1};
    ;;
    $fields{version1}{1} = 'Oops...';
    ;;
    print $fields{version1}   {1};
    print $fields{version_TWO}{1};
   "
   $VAR1 = {
             'version_TWO' => {
                                '1' => 'Ok'
                              },
             'version1' => $VAR1->{'version_TWO'}
           };
   
   Ok
   Ok
   Oops...
   Oops...
   [download]

   but, of course, still the problem of copying references.

---

---

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! —

• How do I compose an effective node title?
• How do I post a question effectively?
• Markup in the Monastery

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:
	&		&
	<		&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.