I know this doesn't directly answer your question, but since you've already been digging into perlref and perlreftut (good job, by the way), you might also find some value in the following perldocs:

• perllol: "lists of lists". True, hashes are not traditional lists or arrays, but they are associative arrays, and many of the concepts in perllol are applicable with minor adaptations.
• perldsc: "data structure cookbook". Lots of good examples to chew on.
• perlfaq4: "Data Manipulation"... need I say more?

Oh, and as others have mentioned, especially when working with references and data structures, use strict; and use warnings; are your friends. You might think they get in the way. The fact is, they prevent you from doing many of the things that would get in the way of reliability, maintainability, and good design.

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