my @array : shared; $array[ 0 ] = 'fred'; ## ok $array[ 1 ] = 12345; ## ok $array[ 2 ] = [ 1,2,3 ] ## NOT OK $array[ 2 ] = &share( [ 1,2,3 ] ); ## OK $array[ 3 ] = { 'a'..'z' }; ## NOT OK my %hash : shared = ( 'a' .. 'z' ); $array[ 3 ] = \%hash; ## OK