It's called the backslash operator (see perlref). It is used to take a reference to a variable, subroutine, or value. It doesn't create a new variable, simply a reference to an existing variable, sub, or value.
perlreftut is a good starting point for references.
Dave
In reply to Re: what is \ in perl
by davido
in thread what is \ in perl
by Anonymous Monk
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