No:

require $pathtool;
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is exactly the same as

require "File::Path";
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which fails. Your other attempt,

eval "require $pathtool";
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evaluates the string, which then looks like

require File::Path;
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which succeeds. Consider using the following code if you want a dynamic module loader:

sub require_package {
    for (@_) {
        (my $file = $_) =~ s-::|'-/-g;
        require "$file.pm";
    };
};
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Other alternatives which I recommend against are UNIVERSAL::require and Module::Load because they both hide fatal errors from you, for example compilation errors in the required modules.

Maybe you might want Module::Pluggable for a plugin system.

Yes, I see, and like your custom function. The code had been working previously with an expression eval before I altered it to the FIRST block eval.

Did you notice how I was thrown off by the success nearby of the SECOND block eval which survived all versions:

eval {$pathtool->import("mkpath")}; #OK

which would not then seem right either if similarly translated as ..(though it may be right?)..:

"File::Path"->import("mkpath");#??

Mmm!

cheers

Pstack

Perl allows barewords or strings (which are basically the same, except that a bareword comes without quotes, hence, "bare") as invocants:

File::Path->import(...)
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is the same as:

"File::Path"->import(...)
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and

my $pathtool = "File::Path";
$pathtool->import(...)
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and all three translate to:

File::Path::import("File::Path",...);
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