# subset 1 of (A..Z) set_1 = (A, B, C, X, Y, Z) # subset 2 of (a..z) set_2 = (q, w, r, t, u) # valid pairs valid = ((A,q) = 1, (A,u) = 6, (A,k) => 3, (C,t) = 10, (Z,u) = 30) #### my %INDEX = { A => { q => 1, u => 6, k => 3 }, C => { t => 10 }, Z => { u => 30 }, M => { q => 100 } } #### # narrow by first set (set_1) x (keys %INDEX) = (set_1) x (A, C, M, Z) = (A, C, Z) #### set_2 x (q, u, k) + set_2 x (t) + set_2 x (u) = (1, 6, 10, 30)