Like Ovid, but with a twist:

# Define a list of 'actions' by listing function names
my %function = map { $_ => \&$_ } qw[
         post
         read
         default
];

# ...

my $action = something();           # Wherever you get it
$function{$action}->(@somestuff);   # Pass any parameters
[download]

You'll want to check that $function{$action} is defined before using it, of course.

This code works with both strict and warnings engaged.