Why not do something like this: 
# Note: Don't prototype () since that won't let you pass args
sub builder {
    my $data = shift;                       # $i in your code I'm keep
+ing in @_

    my %hash = ();
    my $ptr = \%hash;                       # Set up a pointer to %has
+h

    for (my $cur = 0; $cur < $#_; $cur++) {
        $ptr->{$_[$cur]} = {};              # Manipulate using our poi
+nter
        $ptr = $ptr->{$_[$cur]};            # and advance it as we go
    }

    $ptr->{$_[$#_]} = $data;                # Do our last hash
    return %hash;                           # and do what you want wit
+h %hash
}

my %hash = builder('abcde', 'a', 'b', 3);
print $hash{'a'}{'b'}{3};                   # 'abcde'

[download]
I used @_ instead of your $i reference, but change things around if you really need it that way. The idea's the same. Perhaps there's a more elegant solution but I couldn't see one at the moment. Have fun.

In reply to RE: Nesting... or something. by Fastolfe
in thread Nesting... or something. by Anonymous Monk

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.