The "\" in this case makes a reference to the variable $intr_html. When a "normal" variable is given to HTML::TokeParser::new, it is taken to be a filename to open and read. When a reference is given, it is taken to be a "pointer" to the text in $intr_html to be parsed.

See perlreftut for a tutorial on references and perlref for all the details.

Arjen

In reply to Re: Why do you need to escape a string used as a paramater? by Aragorn
in thread Why do you need to escape a string used as a paramater? by awohld

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