Well... yes. I admit it.

From the original question I had made an obviously irrational assumption. I had assumed that the application was reading lines (presumably from a file), splitting those into columns (@column = split /\s+/, $line ;) and storing the result in a two-dimensional array of cells (@sheets). That assumption lead me astray, and I slipped into the unwise contemplation of what I now acknowledge to be a heresy.

I freely confess my sins and repent.

I accept, without reservation, that on occasion it may be desirable to have one (or more) rows in a two-dimensional array which are accessible by an alias, say, @columns. And I would like now to apologize, humbly and deeply, if my remarks suggested otherwise, in any way, whatsoever.

I feel foolish now, and would like uncountably many other offences of hubris to be taken into consideration.

In mitigation, however, I would like to draw attention to the very first words of my remarks: "As a general proposition".

And I suggest that, in general, $sheets[1] = \@column; won't be a deliberate exercise in aliasing, but will be a potential hazard, which could bite the innocent programmer in their unsuspecting gluteus maximus (or glutinous maximus, in some cases).

I now undertake to collect my hair shirt from the cleaners at the earliest opportunity, and wear it more often to remind me to transgress no more.