Does it copy the hash? I'm still rather new at perl (just 1 year experience). This could mostly likely be a novice error.

How does your code work?  my @c = split /\s+/,$ref_coord->{$id};

Does it create an array based on the space between the coordinates in the hash value? and what does the "->" mean exactly?

Actually, I understand it.

My question is how can I put the coordinates in @c if the hash has not been dereferenced? or am I doing (and thinking) about this all wrong?

You don't need to dereference the hash ref into a standard hash variable to use it. As the previous poster said, this will make a copy of the hash instead of editing the original. You can use a hash ref just as you would a standard hash by dereferencing as needed. Below are comparisons of some common hash syntax.

Hash                         Hash Ref
my %hash = (key=>'value');   my $hash_ref = {key=>'value'};
$hash{key} = 'mod_value';    $hash_ref->{key} = 'mod_value';
print $hash{key};            print $hash_ref->{key};
my @keys = keys %hash;       my @keys = keys %{$hash_ref};
[download]

Have a look at perlreftut for the tutorial on references. That should tell you everything you need to know :)

Got everything working! Thanks Everyone!