To create the data you see in the POD with scalar assignements you would have to write this:

$where{user}= 'nwiger';
$where{completion_date}{-not_between}= ['2002-10-01', '2003-02-06'];
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What would be a problem is if you used this as well:

$where{completion_date}= 5;
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Because $where{completion_date} can't be pointer to a hash and scalar value at the same time. But nothing prevents you from storing further scalar values or hash pointers in $where{thingy} or $where{stuff} or $where{completion_date}{depperstuff}

A big help might be to watch Data::Dumper output of %where after you execute each of the above statements

Thanks but isn't my code doing what your code does?

$where{$colname}{'-between'} = [$from,$to]; #my code
where{completion_date}{-not_between}= ['2002-10-01', '2003-02-06'];#yo
+ur code
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I though $from and $to would work as they contain the right values.

I'm not talking about your script. I just answered your implied question "I don't see where I can use this functionality with the two choices you mentioned to pick from" in your last post.

After looking at your script I see that the problem is that when you call process("DATE1=20111111:20111112"), your script will execute the first 'unless' (which will put a scalar value into $where{DATE1}) and then execute the last 'if' block (which will try to put a reference into $where{DATE1}).

The problem is evident from your script output (it prints "normal value: 20111111:20111112" and it shouldn't do that, right?). If you had put a few Data::Dumper statements into the subroutine it would have been even more conspicuous.

So evidently Anonymous Monk was right