#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

my $decoded_json = {
    'version' => '1.0',
    'feed' => {
        'xmlns' => 'http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom',
        'updated' => {
            '$t' => '2020-10-16T19:55:33.294Z'
        },
        'gs$rowCount' => {
            '$t' => '1000'
        }}};

print $decoded_json->{feed}->{updated}->{'$t'};  # 2020-10-16T19:55:33
+.294Z
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How should the code return 2019-07-19 when the structure contains 2020-10-16? Maybe the problems happens in the code you didn't show - how do you create the JSON?

My apologies, I didn't catch that, but it explains part of the problem.

In the actual JSON file, it reads as follows:

      "updated":{
         "$t":"2019-07-19T20:04:56.046Z"
[download]

But when Perl and or JSON::XS is loading the JSON file, it seems to be reinterpreting the $t some how as the current time. I have not declared $t at all.

I knew what the answer was supposed to be in my head, and my brain just didn't connect that the DataDummper was putting the current time, as I was looking at the raw JSON.

This just baffles me even more. I'll keep digging.

I can't reproduce that either. It still returns the value stored in the original JSON, as expected.

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;
use warnings;

use JSON::XS;

my $json = '{"feed":{"updated":{"$t":"2019-07-19T20:04:56.046Z"}}}';
my $decoded_json = decode_json($json);
print $decoded_json->{feed}->{updated}->{'$t'};  # 2019-07-19T20:04:56
+.046Z
[download]

map{substr$_->[0],$_->[1]||0,1}[\*||{},3],[[]],[ref qr-1,-,-1],[{}],[sub{}^*ARGV,3]

But when Perl and or JSON::XS is loading the JSON file, it seems to be reinterpreting the $t some how as the current time.

Sorry, but almost certainly not.

use warnings;
use strict;
use Data::Dump;
use JSON::XS;

dd decode_json('{ "updated":{ "$t":"2019-07-19T20:04:56.046Z" } }')

__END__

{ updated => { "\$t" => "2019-07-19T20:04:56.046Z" } }
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Again, please provide a Short, Self-Contained, Correct Example that we can run that shows otherwise.

I've not had any problems with JSON that has dollar signs in keys in any of the common Perl JSON implementations; such things are pretty common, like in the JSON Schema spec.

Pretty sure you're doing something weird and the issue isn't in the JSON modules. Please post full code of something that behaves unexpectedly.

This thing which you posted should work:

$decoded_json->{feed}->{updated}->{'$t'};
[download]

The string as you've shown in your (I assume) Data::Dumper output is the two characters $ and t, and {'$t'} is the correct way to access the hash entry whose key is that two-character string. The string '\$t' consists of three characters, \, $ and t, because backslashes in single-quoted strings work differently than in double-quoted strings - see Quote and Quote like Operators. You don't need to escape $ in a single-quoted string.

I am trying to get the Feed Updated value, this gives me the current time, and not the time value of 2019-07-19

Sorry, this doesn't make sense to me. Based on what you've shown here, there is no way that accessing the key differently would give you a different value. I suspect the data structure actually contains the value it's showing you. If you continue to have trouble, please provide a Short, Self-Contained, Correct Example that reproduces the isse.

You did not provide the full content neither of $VAR1 nor of the JSON. By chance, is there another "updated" entry besides the one under the "feed" key with the current timestamp and you're just confusing these?