use strict;
 
my(%config) =
("variable1" => "default1",
 "variable2" => "default2");
 
&get_settings("myconfig",\%config);
 
sub get_settings{
  my($filename,$config_hash) = @_;
  my($var,$val);
 
  return unless ref $config_hash eq "HASH";
 
  open(CFGFILE,"<$filename")
    or die "Cannot open config file $filename: $!";
  while (<CFGFILE>){
    chomp;
    next if /^#/;
    ($var,$val) = split(/=/,$_,2);
    $config_hash->{$var} = $val if exists $config_hash->{$var};
  }
  close(CFGFILE);
}