I wouldn't use an eval, if it's not necessary.

perl -e '$code = sub{ print "Ovid is a blowhard\n" };&$code'
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This is better because your code is checked at compile time and you don't reinvoke the Perl interpreter.

Cheers,
Ovid

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Defined as the problem, I *must* use a scalar full of code.

This is often true, so I can understand why an eval might be necessary. What, exactly, is the source of the scalar? Is this being built at runtime? If so, eval might be the answer. If it's a bunch of static code snippets that can be determined at compile time, a hash of coderefs is faster and safer.

Cheers,
Ovid

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specialfunction( sub { eval $code } );
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   larryk                                          
perl -le "s,,reverse killer,e,y,rifle,lycra,,print"

This works... now i just have to keep it secure. :) Thanks.

Contrary to the above two answers, you don't need eval to build a code ref. Just an anonymous sub will do it:

my $code = sub { print "hello perlmonks\n"; };
#
&specialfunction($code);
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HTH

$code *must* start out as a string of characters that are legal perlcode.

$code = 'print "Hello, World!\n"';
$coderef = eval "sub { $code }";
$coderef->();
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2;0 juerd@ouranos:~$ perl -e'undef christmas'
Segmentation fault
2;139 juerd@ouranos:~$
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