Yes, but for good reasons "symbolic references" are deactivated under strict!

Better use hashes:

my %line;
for my $alpha ( "a" .. "b" ) { 
  $line{$alpha} = "somenum"; 
}
[download]

If you still insist to use it, search for "variables as variable names perl".

EDIT: second google hit Why it's stupid to `use a variable as a variable name' from 1998!!! =)

ShermW0829: FYI, this
    perldoc -q "use a variable as a variable name"
gives you the FAQ section to which the reply of Dominus linked by LanX is a counter-blast (well, kinda). (Use single- or double-quotes as appropriate to your OS.)

Found in C:\strawberry\5.14\perl\lib\pods\perlfaq7.pod
  How can I use a variable as a variable name?
    Beginners often think they want to have a variable contain the nam
+e of a
    variable.
    ...
[download]

Thank you to everyone. I saw the statement that something like PERL people aren't really PERL people until they understand and use hashes. Sherman