Your readItem() subroutine suggests the need for access to values without much typing. If you also desire to assign new values, why not use an alias? Like so: 
*label= \$project{$activeProject}
                 {components}
                 {Software}
                 {subComponents}
                 {Database}
                 {label} ;

[download]

You read the value using print $lable;, and assign a new value using '$label='Test-2'; .

This is a lot shorter than the OP which exhibited the full train of variables, and was coded like this: 

$project{$activeProject}
        {components}
        {Software}
        {subComponents}
        {Database}
        {label}
        = 'Test-2';

[download]

In reply to Re: Using multi-level hashes by ioannis
in thread Using multi-level hashes by carcassonne

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