If your data is in a hash, why take a reference to the value? Why not store the key wherever your using the reference? That way you have the key when you need it and can get the value with a fast lookup.

Examine what is said, not who speaks.
"Efficiency is intelligent laziness." -David Dunham
"When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong." -Richard Buckminster Fuller

In reply to Re: Given ref to hash value, retrieve the key by BrowserUk
in thread Given ref to hash value, retrieve the key by gazpacho

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