my %h = (a => 5, b => 9);
my $ref = \%h;
print "\$ref->{a}=$ref->{a}\n";

my $not_ref = "$ref";
print "\$not_ref->{a}=$not_ref->{a}\n";

print "Even though $ref == $not_ref\n";

##</code><code>##

print "Even though $ref looks like $not_ref\n";