How can I convert the stringified version of array reference to actual array reference in Perl?

Question

Is there any way to get Perl to convert the stringified version e.g (ARRAY(0x8152c28)) of an array reference to the actual array reference?

For example

Answer 1

The stringified version contains the memory address of the array object, so yes, you can recover it. This code works for me, anyway (Cygwin, perl 5.8):

use Inline C;
@a = (1,2,3,8,12,17);
$a = \@a . "";
print "Stringified array ref is $a\n";
($addr) = $a =~ /0x(\w+)/;
$addr = hex($addr);
$c = recover_arrayref($addr);
@c = @$c;
print join ":", @c;
__END__
__C__
AV* recover_arrayref(int av_address) { return (AV*) av_address; }

.

$ perl ref-to-av.pl
Stringified array ref is ARRAY(0x67ead8)
1:2:3:8:12:17