in reply to Anonymous Thingies

One of the first "things" that pops in my mind as to why i would want an anonymous data structure is using HTML::Template ... or DBI for that matter. With the former, you have to pass a complex data structure like so: 
$ref = {
   value => 'some single value',
   loop => [
      { name => 'foo', id => 5 },
      { name => 'bar', id => 9 },
   ],
};

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The 'loop' key points to an anonymous list which in turns contains a list of anonymous hash references. The scope of each of these anonymous things last as long as $ref itself, as long as you don't delete them, of course.

In short, anonymous data structures (and subroutines) are among the most useful items Perl has to offer. I am sure that others will give you lots of closure and callback examples to show off the usefulness of anonymous subroutines. I have to get back to work now ... eduardo is giving me "the stare" ...

jeffa

L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)

In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom