Sure. Here's some short code for you: 
while (<IN>) {
  chomp;
  my ($name) = /([^:]+)/;
  @{ $users{$name} }{ @fields } = split /:/;
}

[download]
I basically create the hash reference and assign to it all at once.
update: down with temporary variables, up with one-liners. 
chomp(@{$users{(/([^:]+)/)[0]}}{@fields} = split /:/) while <IN>;

[download]


japhy -- Perl and Regex Hacker

In reply to Re: assigning to a hash via split by japhy
in thread assigning to a hash via split by aardvark

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