You can make a copy of the string that is marked as a byte string, even if the original string is UTF8, by doing this: 
$bytes = pack "C0a*", $bytes_or_utf8;

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That should work on pre-5.6 perls too — even though it won't do much.

In reply to Re: use bytes without breaking perl 5.005 or 5.004? by bart
in thread use bytes without breaking perl 5.005 or 5.004? by joshclark

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