References and Complex Data Structures

The variables we have looked at to date are relatively simple - scalars, arrays, and hashes. However, often a problem calls for something more complex; for example, the record of a person containing their name, age, address, and telephone number. In such cases being able to represent the data in a more complex data structure would be very convenient - in fact, often half the battle in deciding how to approach a given problem in programming is deciding on the type of data structure to use.