How do I use symbolic references in Perl?

Question

In Perl, if a variable holds the name for another variable, how do I use the first variable to visit the other one?

For example, let

$name = \"bob\";         


        

Answer 1

Symbolic references are worth avoiding, but if you really want to use them, they have the same use syntax as regular references: see http://perlmonks.org/?node=References+quick+reference.