Yep, trying to update the tr/// would be a nightmare if it were this long. I don't know your code, but I thought maybe the best solution would be to keep the "source" of the transformation in the mapping hash (or in an external file) and then either regenerate the tr/// each time you make changes or each time you start the script.

I understand the worries about string eval, but in this case it is gonna be safe. There will be no stuff comming from outside of the script in the evaled string so you are not loosing any security by this. Plus you may test that all the keys and values in the hash are single characters and escape the specials.

I think the tr/// syntax could be improved. It's fine if the list of transliterated characters is fairly short, but as it gets longer it's hard to keep the two lists in sync. I think it need's an /x modifier ;-) Maybe like this: tr/a-z => A-Z , +- => -+, 0-9 => 1275489603/x