Pseudo-Hashes

• This idea was developed over the next few years

• Big problem: This cannot be translated at compile time

        $self->{$key}

• Solution: $self would be an arrayref that pretended to be a hashref

• It would carry around a hash that mapped keys to values:

        [ { NAME => 1, TYPE => 2, size => 3, ... },
          "Fenchurch",
          "Octopus", "Small", 3, undef, ... ]

• You were now allowed to use an arrayref as if it were a hashref

• This was formerly an error:

        $array_ref->{$key}          

• Now it is an abbreviation for this:

        $array_ref->[$array_ref->[0]->{$key}]

• Note that this is somewhat slower than $hash_ref->{$key} would have been

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Copyright © 2003 M. J. Dominus