Jeff Clites: > But there's a semantic difference between a "reference to a hash > element" and a "reference to something which happens to have come out > of a hash".
True, but irrelevant. :) > $a = $hash{bar}; Here you used the copy constructor before taking the reference. It might look like an assignment operator, but it isn't. You're better off thinking that assignment doesn't exist. It's a copy constructor. It makes the PMC referred to by $a a copy of the PMC in $hash{bar}. Their values may be "equal" but they're two different PMCs. > $b = \$hash{bar}; Here you didn't make a copy before taking the reference. No copy, only one PMC. It all works. -- BITTERNESS: Never be Afraid to Share Your Dreams with the World, Because there's Nothing the World Loves More Than The Taste of Really Sweet Dreams http://www.despair.com