$p = pack 'N/a*', pack '(n/a*)*', 1..10, 'aaaa'..'aaaz';; %h = unpack '(n/a*)*', unpack 'N/a*', $p;; pp \%h;; { 1 => 2, 3 => 4, 5 => 6, 7 => 8, 9 => 10, aaaa => "aaab", aaac => "aaad", aaae => "aaaf", aaag => "aaah", aaai => "aaaj", aaak => "aaal", aaam => "aaan", aaao => "aaap", aaaq => "aaar", aaas => "aaat", aaau => "aaav", aaaw => "aaax", aaay => "aaaz", }