$ ./perl -Ilib -MHash::Util=bucket_array -MData::Dumper -le'my (%hash,%copy); keys(%copy)=16; %hash=(1..14); %copy=%hash; print Data::Dumper->new([bucket_array($_)])->Terse(1)->Indent(0)->Dump for \%hash, \%copy;' [['13','5'],1,['7'],['11'],2,['3','1'],['9']] [3,['11'],3,['9'],['5','13'],1,['7'],3,['1','3'],1]