assignments made to the copy don't affect the original, but the elements reference the same things initially.
Am I missing something? What exactly is wrong with @newlist = @{$self->{oldlist}};? What do you mean by "reference the same things initially?" Is this an array of references? Maybe you mean something like 
@newlist = map { [ @$_ ] } @{ $self->{oldlist} };
@newlist = map { { %$_ } } @{ $self->{oldlist} };

[download]
but it's hard to tell..

blokhead

In reply to Re: Best way to copy an array? by blokhead
in thread Best way to copy an array? by John M. Dlugosz

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