Reread docs :) . For blessed variables ref returns package into which variable is blessed.

Normally one uses ref with objects to check if they belong to some specific class and UNIVERSAL::isa with objects to check if they belong to some class or its subclass.

--
Ilya Martynov (http://martynov.org/)

#!/usr/bin/perl -w

use strict;

# Our base, or super class
package Foo;

sub new
{
    bless {}, shift;
}

# The subclass Bar inherits from Foo
package Bar;
use base 'Foo';

# The main package
package main;

# Instantiate an object of type Bar:
my $obj = Bar->new();

# Three different kinds of tests, to see what type the object is:

print "Using ref to test which object type:\n";
print "\$obj is Bar\n" if(ref $obj eq 'Bar');
print "\$obj is Foo\n" if(ref $obj eq 'Foo');

print "Using UNIVERSAL::isa:\n";
print "\$obj is Bar or subclass of Bar\n" if(UNIVERSAL::isa($obj,'Bar'
+));
print "\$obj is Foo or subclass of Foo\n" if(UNIVERSAL::isa($obj,'Foo'
+));

print "Using object method isa:\n";
print "\$obj is Bar or subclass of Bar\n" if($obj->isa('Bar'));
print "\$obj is Foo or subclass of Foo\n" if($obj->isa('Foo'));
[download]

Hope that helps.

Perhaps it is strange thinking, but I think that entry needs something more to it. Your example is quite better than the link. I do not know what it is, but the first time I read it, it does not seem clear, or rather, I thought it said one thing. I read it again, it seems to say something else, based on what people here have said. I should be able to get the proper meaning of what it says first time I read it.

(I will inspect it, to figure out how I read it wrong.)