+ # Check for special objects before attempting general parsing.
+ if ($ref_str =~ m/^zero\[(\d+)\+(\d+)\]$/) {
+ return "\0" x ($2 + 0);
+ }
+
+ # Try to parse the object reference string into constituent pieces. The
+ # format is segment/object(checksum)[range]. Both the checksum and range
+ # are optional.